Warriors A New Age 3: Tragedies of War
by digital devotion
Summary: Six moons have past since Ghostwind and the others have returned. Times are tough in leafbare, but things are about to get much worse. The war Cottonbrave warned about is upon them. Can they win, or will tragedy befall the lake Clan cats? 6 of 6
1. Clan Allegiances

**ThunderClan**

LEADER

**Rowanstar** – ginger tom, yellow eyes

DEPUTY

**Thunderstripe** – black tom, pepper stripes, yellow eyes

MEDICINE CAT

**Maggotstripe **- silver she-cat, black stripes, light brown eyes; daughter of the rogues Slug and Thicket; sister of Whiskerheart

** Apprentice, Ravenheart**

WARRIORS

**Cottonclaw** – silver tom with dark gray stripes; green eyes; Meadowbreeze's mate

**Apprentice, Sparrowpaw**

** Whiskerheart** – silver and gray tom, black stripes, amber- brown eyes; brother of Maggotstripe; mates with Ashflower

** Apprentice, Bearpaw**

** Springfoot** – dark gray and brown she-cat, light amber eyes

** Apprentice, Mousepaw **

** Forestclaw** - brown and dark gray tom, black spots, light silver eyes; brother of Rowanstar and Pebbletail

**Apprentice, Riverpaw**

** Skunkpelt – **gray, black, and white she-cat, light yellow eyes

**Apprentice, Mintpaw**

**Mistmeadow** – silver and white flecked she-cat, light yellow eyes; mother of Stonepaw and Shimmerpaw by Silvermoon

**Cloverpelt –** brown and cream she-cat, sapphire blue eyes; mother of Ebonypaw and Tawnypaw by Darkeye

**Silvermoon** – silver and white tom, sapphire blue eyes

** Darkeye** – gray and dark gray tom, yellow eyes

**Stormypelt –** silver and gray she-cat, few black stripes, light blue eyes; was once a kittypet; mother of Ghostwind, Ashflower, Cottonclaw, Riverpaw and Mintpaw by Rowanstar

** Pureheart** – white and black tom; left eye terribly scarred after a badger attack; light green right eye

**Palefur** – black and white she-cat, sky blue eyes

**Stormtail** – dark gray tom, white chest, white paws, light yellow eyes

** Nimbleclaw – **silver and white she-cat, amber eyes

**Pebbletail** - brown and dark brown tabby she-cat, light blue- silver eyes; sister of Rowanstar and Forestclaw

**Smudgewing** – white she-cat, long-furred chest and tail, dark green eyes; mates with Ghostwind

**Shadeclaw** – silver and white tom, black and pepper stripes, light amber eyes

** Meadowbreeze** - pretty, brown tabby she-cat; light green eyes; Cottonclaw's mate

** Ghostwind** – light ginger tom; white chest and muzzle; light yellow eyes; mates with Smudgewing

** Ashflower** – gray and silver tabby she-cat; very pretty silvery green eyes; mates with Whiskerheart

**Stoneheart **–gray and brown tom; white muzzle and chest; dark amber eyes

**Shimmerclaw** – long-furred white she-cat; gray and brown face, ears, paws, and tail; sapphire blue eyes

**Ebonydawn** – black she-cat; light yellow eyes

**Tawnyheart –** brown she-cat; white muzzle; brown eyes

APPRENTICES

**Ravenheart** – long-furred black she-cat; pretty, sky blue eyes

** Sparrowpaw** – gray, ginger, and white tortiseshell she-cat with black tabby stripes; light amber eyes

**Bearpaw** – brown tabby tom; brown eyes

**Mousepaw** – silvery-gray tom; blue eyes

**Riverpaw** – gray tom; silvery-green eyes

**Mintpaw**– light ginger tabby she-cat; dark orange striped tail; yellow eyes

QUEENS

**Gingerheart** – ginger-brown she-cat, light brown eyes; was once a Twoleg; mother of Ravenheart, Shadeclaw, Meadowbreeze, Turtlekit, Dreamkit, and Thistlekit by Thunderstripe; Dustkit was still-born

**Summerflower** – gray and brown she-cat, gray eyes; mother of Sunkit, Bluekit, and Pepperkit by Stormtail

ELDERS

**Thornfur – **black tom, white paws, yellow eyes

** Quickpelt – **ginger brown she-cat, black stripes, light blue eyes; mother of Rowanstar, Forestclaw, and Pebbletail by Sprucebark

** Twigleaf** – ginger she-cat, dark ginger stripes, yellow eyes

** Wetpelt –** black she-cat, white chest, light yellow eyes

**Granitetail** – dark gray tom, white face, white paws, light yellow eyes

**Rainfur** – gray she-cat, yellow eyes; mother of Webpelt, Nimbleclaw, and Sootpelt by Icefur

**Lightdew** – cream and white she-cat, light green eyes; mother of Pureheart and Palefur by Crookedfern

KITS

**Turtlekit** – dark brown she-cat, amber eyes

**Dreamkit** – brown tabby she-cat, brown eyes

**Thistlekit** – gray-brown tabby tom, yellow eyes

**Sunkit** – light ginger tom, yellow eyes

**Bluekit** – gray and white she-cat, blue eyes

**Pepperkit** – gray-brown tabby she-cat, light brown eyes

GONE AWAY

**Cedarspirit **– ginger tom, white paws, amber eyes; went off with Lightning the fox

**Coldfur** – dark gray tom, white chest, white claw-shaped mark over nose and forehead, yellow-green eyes; son of Oakpelt and Maplerose of RiverClan; went off to find himself a new home

**Sootpelt** – blue-gray tom, yellow eyes; went with Coldfur

DECEASED **Goldenstar** – ginger tabby tom, amber eyes; lost his last life when he was possessed by Tigerstar's spirit

** Ashfang –** silver she-cat, dark gray stripes, very light green eyes; died during a battle against DarkClan on the island

** Cottonbrave** – silver and gray long-furred tom, dark gray tail, yellow eyes; died in an attack by DarkClan; he tried to help save Clawstar from being kidnapped; Rowanstar gave him his warrior name just before he passed **  
**

** Clawstar** – large, dark gray tom, very light green eyes; died in final battle against DarkClan

** Softcreek** – white, cream, and dark brown she-cat, yellow eyes; mother of Summerflower, Springfoot, Skunkpaw, and Smudepaw by Granitetail; adoptive mother of Coldfur; died saving Springfoot during an attempt to chase away a fox

**Barrenoak** – brown and dark brown tom, light amber eyes; oldest tom in the Clan; died of a cough at a very old age

**Oakpelt** – gray and white tom, yellow eyes; died during badger attack

**Poppyflower** – ginger she-cat, black stripes, green eyes; died of old age

**Dustkit** – still-born tom; born to Gingerheart and Thunderstripe

**

* * *

RiverClan**

LEADER

**Lionstar – **brown and dark brown tom, silver eyes; was once a Twoleg named Leo

DEPUTY

**Ashwhisker** – small, gray and silver tom, amber eyes

MEDICINE CAT

**Blossomfur** – silver she-cat, dark gray spots, light green eyes

**Apprentice, Heatherlight**

WARRIORS

**Eaglefeather **– slender, black tom; silvery blue eyes

**Apprentice, ****Barkpaw**

** Hazelfrost – **white she-cat; black patches on head and back; black tail; dark amber eyes

**Apprentice, Gorsepaw**

**Scorchfur** – white, ginger, and black tom, blue eyes

**Apprentice, Slenderpaw**

**Lilyfur** – white and gray she-cat, sky blue eyes; mother of Sunpatch and Scorchfur by Torchfur

** Bubbletail** – white and gray she-cat, amber eyes; has Hedgeblossom, Heatherlight, and Hazelfrost by Whiskerclaw

** Streameyes** – white and dark brown she-cat, blue eyes

** Brushgrove** – gray and black tom, dark amber eyes

**Daisyclaw** – black she-cat, white paws, yellow eyes; mother of Eaglefeather and Swanpool by Lionstar

** Woodpuddle** – dark brown tom, blue eyes

**Willowsky** – gray and silver she-cat, sky blue eyes; was once a kittypet

**Sunpatch** – white and ginger she-cat, light blue eyes; has Barkpaw, Gorsepaw, and Slenderpaw by Woodpuddle

** Jollypelt** – gray she-cat, white chest, white paws, silver eyes; was sick in greencough epidemic

**Hedgeblossom **– gray and light gray tabby she-cat, light yellow eyes; had Echopaw by Scorchfur; was sick in greencough epidemic

**Secretflower** – pretty cream she-cat, brown spots, black striped tail-tip, silvery-blue eyes; was sick in greencough epidemic

**Swanpool **– gray and white she-cat; yellow eyes

** Echopelt **– white tom; ginger patches; ginger striped tail; dark amber eyes; was sick in greencough epidemic

APPRENTICES

**Heatherlight **– pretty, silver she-cat; black striped tail; light blue eyes

**Barkpaw **– brown tabby tom; light brown eyes

**Gorsepaw **– ginger she-cat; white muzzle and tail-tip; blue eyes

**Slenderpaw **– gray-brown tabby she-cat; white muzzle and chest; silvery-blue eyes

QUEENS

**Peachfur** – ginger and white she-cat, dark amber eyes; will have Stormkit and Riverkit by Ashwhisker; was sick in greencough epidemic

ELDERS

**Willowfoot** – silver and gray she-cat, soft blue eyes; was sick in greencough epidemic

** Splinterclaw** – gray tom, white chest, yellow eyes

** Yellowheart –** brown tom, gray face, yellow eyes; was sick in greencough epidemic

** Timberpelt – **silver she-cat, few gray stripes, amber eyes; was sick in greencough epidemic; became an elder after being sick

** Maplerose **– ginger she-cat, black spots, amber eyes; mother of Secretflower and Coldfur by Oakpelt of ThunderClan; was sick in greencough epidemic; became an elder after being sick

KITS

**Stormkit**– gray tom; dark amber eyes

**Riverkit**– silver she-cat; gray face, ears, legs, and tail; blue eyes

DECEASED

**Whiskerclaw** – gray tom, light blue eyes; died of greencough in epidemic

**Fogpelt** – gray tom, black stripes, white paws, light green eyes; died of greencough in epidemic

**Nightflower** – black and white she-cat, yellow eyes; died of greencough in epidemic

** Featherstar** – long-furred gray she-cat, amber eyes; died of greencough in epidemic; lost last two lives to it

**Hazelsweet – **ginger she-cat, dark ginger stripes, amber eyes; mother of Jollypelt and Peachfur by Splinterclaw; died of greencough in epidemic

** Whiteflower** – white she-cat, dark blue eyes; mother of Streameyes by Boldstripe; died of greencough in epidemic

**Boldstripe** – cream tom, brown stripes, amber eyes; was sick in greencough epidemic; died some after because he moarned for his mate

**

* * *

ShadowClan**

LEADER

**Crimsonstar** – white she-cat, red ears, red striped tail, dark blue eyes

DEPUTY

**Furyclaw** – ginger tom, white paws, white chest, amber eyes

MEDICINE CAT

**Shadowheart** – ginger tabby she-cat, amber eyes

WARRIORS

**Bowfur** – light gray tom, yellow eyes

**Apprentice, Boulderpaw**

** Snailpool – **long-furred, black she-cat; silvery-blue eyes

**Apprentice, Sorrelpaw**

** Mellowclaw – **silver and gray she-cat, green eyes; mother of Driftsoot, Bowfur, Speckledrabbit, Snailpool, and Boulderpaw by Duskcloud

** Honeyshine – **ginger she-cat, white markings, amber eyes; mother of Shadowheart, Endclaw, Petalmoth, Foxstripe, and Sorrelpaw by Lostwing; had stillborn tom with Sorrelpaw

**Duskcloud** – long-furred black and gray tom, amber eyes

** Spidercloud –** white, black, and brown she-cat, yellow eyes

**Pineroot** – broad-shouldered silver and cream tom, large amber eyes; was once a kittypet

** Roguestripe** – black and white she-cat, silver eyes; mother of Tigerflame and Russetfrost by Furyclaw

** Dwarfshadow** – small gray tom, black stripes, white chest, green eyes

** Silkfur** – gray she-cat, silver eyes; mother of Volemask and Snowfire by Dwarfshadow

** Driftsoot** – gray and silver tom, yellow eyes

**Endclaw** – white she-cat, ginger striped tail, blue eyes

**Burntpelt –** black and brown mottled tom, right half of face is brown, left half of face is black; silver eyes

** Needleheart **– slender, light brown tabby she-cat with brown stripes; brown eyes

**Cinderbranch**– brown tom; white chin; yellow eyes

**Briarfoot **– white she-cat; ginger patches; dark amber eyes

** Petalmoth **– ginger she-cat; white muzzle, chest, and paws; yellow eyes

**Foxstripe **– ginger tom; dark ginger stripes; yellow eyes

**Tigerflame **– ginger tom; dark ginger stripes; amber eyes

**Russetfrost **– orange tom; white chest and paws; amber eyes

**Volemask **– gray tabby tom; black stripes; silver eyes

**Snowfire **– gray tabby she-cat with dark gray stripes; white chest and paws; yellow eyes

APPRENTICES

**Boulderpaw **– gray tom; white chest; dark amber eyes

**Sorrelpaw** – black and ginger she-cat; light amber eyes

QUEENS

**Speckledrabbit **– gray she-cat; black spots; silver eyes; mother of Littlekit and Dapplekit by Pineroot

ELDERS

**Brambletongue** – black and cream tom, white chest, amber eyes

**Winterthorn –** black she-cat, long front claws, gray eyes; mother of Burntpelt by Brambletongue

** Calmwhisker –** gray tom, white paws, white chest, amber eyes

**Lostwing** – black and gray tom, yellow eyes

**Harmonyfur –** white she-cat, ginger ears, ginger tail, dark green eyes; mother of Needleheart, Cinderbranch, and Briarfoot by Burrowgrass

**Burrowgrass** – dark brown tom, amber eyes; stepped down from deputy position

KITS

**Littlekit** – orange and ginger tom; light gray-green eyes

**Dapplekit** – gray-brown she-cat with black spots and stripes; amber eyes

DECEASED

**Stonebreeze** – silver and gray tom, gray/green eyes; died from a hole in his shoulder

**Rippletail **– ginger and white she-cat, yellow eyes

**Embertail** – black and dark brown tom, yellow eyes; died of old age

** Sparrowclaw** – cream and light brown she-cat, amber eyes; died of old age

** Sleetrain –** dark gray tom, light blue eyes; died of old age

**Cracklefur** – cream and brown tom, dark green eyes

**Blackshadow** – long-furred black tom, yellow eyes; died of greencough

** Brindleleaf **– brown and white brindle she-cat, amber eyes; died of greencough

**

* * *

WindClan**

LEADER

**Graystar –** gray tom, amber eyes

DEPUTY

**Rustclaw** – small smoke gray and silver tom, light amber eyes; mates with Merryclaw

**Apprentice, Dawnpaw**

MEDICINE CAT

**Dovewing** – white she-cat, cream face, cream tail, amber eyes

** Apprentice, Roseheart**

WARRIORS

**Mudtalon **– brown and tan tom; gray eyes

**Apprentice, ****Graypaw**

** Breezeheart** – silver and white she-cat, yellow eyes; mates with Smokefrost; haven't been able to have kits

**Apprentice, Kestrelpaw**

**Brownclaw** – small brown and dark gray mottled tom, light amber eyes; was once a kittypet

** Irisfur** – black she-cat, yellow eyes; mother of Brackenthorn by Rumbleclaw

** Cloudpool **– white she-cat, light amber eyes; mother of Moonmist and Mudtalon by Brownclaw

**Smokefrost** – eggshell white tom with a gray head, legs, and tail; light blue eyes; was once a kittypet; mates with Breezeheart

** Mildpelt** – ginger tom, green eyes

**Acornleaf** – dark gray tom, black striped tail; white chest, white paws, amber eyes

**Whitefur** – long-furred gray she-cat, white chest, white paws, light amber eyes; mother of Graypaw, Kestrelpaw, and Dawnpaw by Acornleaf**  
**

** Brackenthorn **– black tom; white muzzle and chest; amber eyes

**Rockpelt **– dark gray tom; silver eyes

**Nettlesage **– ginger she-cat; white chest and front paws; yellow eyes

**Frogshadow **– black tom; white tail-tip; yellow eyes

**Lilymouse **– black and white she-cat; amber eyes

APPRENTICES

**Roseheart** – smoke gray she-cat, yellow eyes

**Graypaw **– long-furred, silver tom; four, white paws; blue eyes

**Kestrelpaw **– brown tom; white muzzle, chest, front paws; dark brown eyes

** Dawnpaw **– white and gray she-cat; amber eyes

QUEENS

**Merryclaw** – white and light ginger she-cat, light brown eyes; mother of Olivekit and Icekit by Rustclaw

**Moonmist **– pure white she-cat; blue eyes; mother of Redkit and Rainkit by unknown tom

ELDERS

**Proudstripe – **ginger tom, white chest, white paws, light amber eyes

** Orangefoot –** dark ginger tom, black striped tail, dark amber eyes

** Windcloud** – gray and white she-cat, yellow eyes; mother of Rockpaw and Nettlepaw by Proudstripe

**Robinclaw –** black and white she-cat, gray eyes; mother of Frogpaw and Lilypaw by Orangefoot

**Nightstripe** – black and white tom, white striped tail-tip, silver/blue eyes

KITS

**Olivekit** – gray and silver she-cat; silvery-blue eyes

**Icekit** – white she-cat with cream ears and paws; amber eyes

**Redkit** – ginger tabby tom; dark amber eyes

**Rainkit** – white, long-furred she-cat; light amber eyes

DECEASED

**Dustspot** – brown tom, black stripes, green eyes; died in a battle against DarkClan

**Angelstar** – black and white she-cat, yellow eyes; died in final battle against DarkClan

** Stoneriver –** silver tom, dark gray stripes, yellow eyes; died in final battle against DarkClan

** Streamleaf** – gray and white she-cat, dark amber eyes; died of old age

** Alderclaw** – gray brown tom, black striped tail, white chest and legs, yellow eyes; died of old age

**Rumbleclaw – **white, light brown, and dark gray tom, light amber eyes; was deputy before Rustclaw; died during a badger attack

**Sunnystripe – **light ginger and white tom, dark ginger stripes, gray eyes; died of greencough in epidemic

** Sapphirestream –** white she-cat, light ginger face and legs, soft blue eyes; died of greencough in epidemic

**Flowerpool** – gray and white she-cat, large light amber eyes; mother of Mildpelt, Breezeheart, and Merryclaw by Sunnystripe; died of greencough in epidemic

**

* * *

LightClan**

LEADER

**Duskstar **– black tom, right eye blue, left eye green

DEPUTY

**Fangeye** – dark gray and brown mottled tom, yellow eyes

MEDICINE CAT

**Whiteraven **– black tom; white paws and chest; yellow eyes

WARRIORS

**Cloudedheart – **gray tabby she-cat; yellow eyes

**Apprentice, Flowerpaw**

** Reekfur** – black tom; yellow eyes

**Apprentice, Crowpaw**

** Weedfur **– gray and brown tom, light amber eyes

**Thornpool** – black tom, light orange eyes

** Crashpelt** – slender black tom, silver-yellow eyes

** Dirtcreek** – small black tom, light brown eyes

** Stubbornpool** – black long-furred she-cat, yellow eyes; mother of Stinkclaw, Sludgemarsh, and Swiftleaf by Weedfur

**Fleetfur** – black she-cat, long-furred tail, silver eyes; mother of Clawbelly and Frozenleaf by Crusade; mother of Flowerpaw and Crowpaw by Thornpool

** Snapthorn** – gray long-furred she-cat, dark amber eyes

** Clawbelly** – black tom, long-furred tail; dark orange eyes

** Frozenleaf** – dark gray tom, light yellow eyes

**Stinkclaw** – dark gray tom; yellow eyes

** Sludgemarsh **– long-furred, dark gray tom; green eyes

** Swiftleaf** – gray and brown mottled tom; yellow eyes

**Boomflower** – black she-cat; light yellow eyes

**Pebbleclaw **– black tom; white spot on chest and stomach; dark amber eyes

**Mistleaf **– pretty, gray tabby she-cat; blue eyes

** Badgerfur **– long-furred, silver and gray tom; dark amber eyes

**Lightheart **– light brown she-cat; white paws; silver eyes

APPRENTICES

**Flowerpaw **– black she-cat; light orange eyes

**Crowpaw **– black tom with brown patches; dark orange eyes

QUEENS

**Pepperclaw** – sleek black she-cat, light yellow eyes; mother of Reekfur, Boomflower, and Blackkit by Rascalpelt

**Talonmist** – black she-cat, light brown eyes; mother of Fernstripe, Raccoonkit, and Breezekit by Duskstar

**Fernstripe** – gray she-cat with black stripes; white chest; white face; white paws; green eyes; mates with Reekfur; pregnant

**Needleclaw** – gray she-cat, amber eyes; mother of Mistleaf, Badgerfur, and Lightheart by Fangeye; pregnant

ELDERS

**Clingoak** – black tom, light yellow eyes

**Cracktail** – black tom, yellow eyes

**Thistleleg –** gray she-cat, light brown eyes; mother of Whiteraven and Cloudedheart by Sharptwig

** Sharptwig** – black long-furred tom, light brown eyes

**Tuskclaw** – gray tom, amber eyes

**Tangleclaw** – black she-cat, silver eyes; mother of Pebbleclaw by Cracktail

KITS

**Blackkit** – black she-cat; silver eyes

**Raccoonkit** – brown tom, black stripes, white chest and legs, yellow eyes

**Breezekit** – black she-cat, white chest, yellow eyes

DECEASED

**Grubleaf** – dark gray and brown mottled tom, light brown eyes

**Shovefrost –** black and brown mottled tom, light yellow eyes; died in greencough epidemic

** Lardtail –** black tom, light yellow eyes; died in greencough epidemic

**Snarlpelt** – black tom, light yellow-green eyes; died in greencough epidemic

**Gravelcloud** – gray tom, black nose, light yellow eyes; died of old age

** Bittertongue **– gray she-cat, yellow eyes; died of old age

**Muskcloud** – gray and dark gray tom, amber eyes; killed by a badger

LEFT THE CLAN

**Rascalpelt – **black tom, yellow eyes


	2. Prologue

**Author's Notes:** I'm back again! Here is the sixth and final installment of my Warriors fanfiction series! I'm excited to say that this book is planned to be more intense, action-packed, and filled with horror than the last five were. You thought DarkClan was bad? Get ready to meet a foe much, much worse! So sit back, grab some popcorn, and get ready for Tragedies of War!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Warriors, but I do own characters that are used in this story. Please don't steal them from me.

**Are you a new reader? Then you'll want to start with book one, Warriors Descended 1: Descendant of Fire! **

* * *

**Prologue**

* * *

A cool, spring breeze sent ripples across the lake. The water was unusually choppy tonight, but the ginger tom who padded through the pine forest couldn't care less how the lake looked. An owl hooted above his head, but he paid it no mind. Amber eyes brightened as the tom stepped out from the shadows of his forest home and reached the edge of the lake. Moonlight shone down on his pelt, setting a stark contrast between the light ginger of his fur and the darker ginger of the stripes that jutted across his back.

The ginger tom suddenly paused, his mouth open as he scented the air. Without a sound, he turned and slipped into the shadows of a bush. There he crouched, his tail wrapped securely around himself as a patrol of cats from across the border came his way. He recognized their scents as ThunderClan. In the lead was a white she-cat with a long-furred chest and tail. Her dark green eyes looked black in the night. Beside her walked a gray, black, and white she-cat and a young, gray and brown tom with a white muzzle and chest.

"I smell ShadowClan," the young tom said, his nose held high.

The gray, black, and white she-cat laughed happily. "Oh, Stoneheart. You've still got a lot to learn! I'm sure a ShadowClan patrol just went by. That's all you're smelling."

The white she-cat shook her head. "Don't discourage him, Skunkpelt. It's okay, Stoneheart. Just ignore her."

"Well, we are on our border with ShadowClan!" Skunkpelt protested. "We're bound to smell ShadowClan while we're over here!"

Stoneheart flicked his tail irritably. "You're probably right. Now, can we go? Sparrowpaw and I were going to share a thrush before bed."

"Ooo!" Skunkpelt giggled. "Stoneheart and Sparrowpaw, sitting under a tree! L-i-c-k-i-n-g! First comes love, then comes matehood, then comes a baby in the nursery!"

The white she-cat shook her head again. "Cut it out, Skunkpelt. You're going to wake the whole forest with your horrible singing."

Skunkpelt flicked her tail. "Like you could do any better, Smudgewing?"

The white she-cat was already walking away, Stoneheart close behind her.

"Hey, wait up!" Skunkpelt shouted, racing after the others.

The tom crouched in the shadows waited until the ThunderClan patrol was long gone before he slipped back out into the moonlight. He twitched his tail in irritation. Those stupid ThunderClan cats had lost him valuable time! Wrinkling his nose in digust, he padded up to the waterline. This was his least favorite part.

He slowly stepped into the water and waded out until the surface just reached his belly fur. Then, as quietly as he could, he began to wade through the water in the direction of the rolling hills on the opposite side of the lake.

* * *

A she-cat was rubbing her back on a clump of grass, trying to scratch an itch, when she heard the sounds of quiet paws coming in her direction. She flipped over and squinted through the darkness. The moonlight cast a brilliant glow on her bright, white pelt. When a shadowy figure stepped out from behind some boulders and she recognized the scent, her eyes widened and glowed blue in the night.

"Tigerflame!" The white she-cat bounded over to him.

"Sorry I'm a little late," Tigerflame said, rubbing his nose along her cheek. "I almost got caught by a ThunderClan patrol."

"Again?" the white she-cat gasped. She flicked his shoulder with her tail. "You need to be more careful, Tigerflame!"

"I know, Moonmist. I'm sorry," Tigerflame said with a sigh. His amber eyes softened. "How are the kits?"

Moonmist purred and twined her tail with his. "They're the healthiest kits around the whole lake! Redkit is growing to be just like you. He's so adventerous. I caught him trying to sneak out of camp just this morning."

Tigerflame purred loudly. "What about Rainkit?"

"She's starting to get a little gray fur on her head," Moonmist laughed.

Tigerflame flicked an ear. "Gray?"

The she-cat shrugged. "I suppose it's from my side. You know, Lola is gray."

"Your grandmother. Right," Tigerflame nodded.

Moonmist laughed again. "Come on! Let's go give a rabbit a heart attack!"

Tigerflame glanced back toward his home. The darkness of the pine trees in ShadowClan looked just the same as they always did. "I can't stay long tonight, Moonmist. Furyclaw picked me for dawn patrol."

"Oh, fox dung," Moonmist pouted. "Sometimes I wish you were confined to the nursery like I am! Then you wouldn't have to worry about staying here with me."

Tigerflame laughed. "You don't sleep all day, do you?"

She curled her tail up over her back and gave a luxurious stretch. "No. Just until sunhigh."

That made Tigerflame laugh even harder. "Well, now I do wish I was stuck in the nursery with you. It must be nice to sleep in."

Moonmist looked worried. "You have been looking awfully tired lately. Are you getting enough sleep? You visit so often, I'm starting to worry you aren't getting enough rest."

"It's not that," Tigerflame shook his head. "I don't care how tired I am the next morning after spending all night with you. It's really Furyclaw. Ever since Burrowgrass stepped down and Crimsonstar picked Furyclaw as deputy, he's been bound and determined to show his worth. Though I don't see what he has to prove. Crimsonstar must've seen something in him to have chosen him as deputy in the first place."

Moonmist draped her tail over his shoulders. "I'm sorry. It sounds rough for you at the moment. Maybe you shouldn't visit for a few days. You need to catch up on some sleep."

He touched his forehead to hers. "But I'd miss you too much."

She batted his ear with a sheathed paw. "You mouse-brain." She laughed and then purred. "I'd miss you, too. But really, you honestly need to get some sleep. Otherwise someone might start questioning why you've been so tired lately."

Tigerflame snorted. "No, not really. Not with the way Furyclaw works everyone to the breaking point lately. Honestly, there's only so much prey you can catch when you send out four different hunting parties at once. Sometimes I wish he hadn't been chosen as deputy."

Moonmist's eyes widened. "Tigerflame, you can't mean that. He's your father! You should be happy for him. Even if he does work you really hard."

Tigerflame sighed. "Yeah. I guess I am happy for him. Though it's hard to be happy for him when he's shouting orders at me every second of every day."

"I'm sure he'll calm down eventually," Moonmist told him. She slapped his ears with her tail. "Come on! Just one rabbit? It'll help you to relax!"

Tigerflame laughed again. "Okay. One rabbit. But then I have to get going." The ginger tom found a clump of bracken and rolled around in it to help mask his ShadowClan scent. "Okay. Ready. Where to?"

Moonmist giggled and took off. Tigerflame rolled his eyes and went after her. With a pelt whiter than snow, she stood out even on the darkest of nights. He chased after her, admiring her speed and gracefulness. She always made him feel clumsy and unsure of himself whenever they went chasing her favorite prey.

A blur shot out of nowhere right in front of Tigerflame. He realized it was a rabbit a split second later as it dodged behind a pile of small boulders. Moonmist had already turned around and was leaping over the boulders to give chase. Tigerflame changed course, his paws slipping on some grass for a moment. He raced after Moonmist and the rabbit. She was catching up to the prey much faster than he was. With admiration, he watched Moonmist swipe a paw at the rabbit. Suddenly, the rabbit was gone.

Moonmist slowed to a stop, but Tigerflame didn't expect the sudden stop and tripped over his own paws to sprawl in the dirt. Standing beside him, Moonmist laughed. She flopped down beside him, her sides moving in and out as she panted from the excursion.

"Are you okay?" Moonmist whispered.

Tigerflame stood and shook himself. "Yeah. I'm great. What happened to the rabbit?" He glanced back to see nothing but shadows.

The WindClan she-cat giggled. "It found a hole to hide in."

Tigerflame shook his head. "I never thought it would be that hard to catch a rabbit. I'm glad I live in the forest. There isn't so much open space for prey to run through."

Moonmist twisted her ears back. "Yes. Well, I'm glad I live on the moor. I can't imagine having trees over my head, blocking out the beautiful, blue sky."

The ginger tom ducked his head. "I'm sorry, Moonmist. I shouldn't have said that."

She shook her head. "Forget about it, Tigerflame. I'm just happy that you're able to visit. I really wish you could see your kits. They're both growing up so fast."

Tigerflame sat down and stared at his paws. "Do they...ask about me?"

Moonmist sat up and leaned her shoulder against his. "No. Not yet."

He looked up at her. "Do you know what you're going to say to them when they do ask?"

The she-cat looked up at the twinkling stars above. It took her so long to answer his question, Tigerflame almost thought she wasn't going to.

"I think about it all the time, Tigerflame. I'm already noticing the looks the kits get. My Clanmates are so wrapped up in the mystery of who the father is, they don't take the time to stop and realize that Redkit and Rainkit are part of WindClan. But when they do finally ask, I'll tell them that he was a strong tom with more courage than all the cats of WindClan combined."

Tigerflame grew hot under his pelt. Moonmist was really too good to him. He licked her cheek. "I wish I could see them. Do you think...no, never mind." He shook his head.

"What? What is it?" Moonmist looked at him, curious.

He shook his head. "It would be too dangerous."

She frowned at him. "Come on, tell me!"

"I just thought...maybe you could bring the kits with you," Tigerflame murmured.

Moonmist was silent. He glanced at her to see she was looking up at the stars again.

"I don't know, Tigerflame. It would be very risky. Perhaps when they're older and understand that your identity has to be kept a secret from everyone." Moonmist looked at him again. "Until then, you'll just have to be content hearing stories about them."

"Of course, Moonmist," Tigerflame whispered. He stood again and stretched. "I should get going. I don't want to be out too long. Not with a dawn patrol in the morning."

Moonmist tucked her nose under his chin. "Will you be here again soon?"

"I'll come back two nights from now," Tigerflame replied, licking her cheek again. He turned away to leave.

"Tigerflame," Moonmist called softly.

He paused and looked over his shoulder at her. "Yeah?"

"Try to get some sleep, okay? I hate seeing you so tired," Moonmist said.

He smiled at her. "Of course. I'll see you in two nights, Moonmist."

The white she-cat watched her mate walk away into the shadows before she turned and headed back to WindClan's camp. When she reached the nursery, she paused outside to look up at the stars one last time before slipping inside. Curled up in her nest were two kits, one a brilliant white and the other a ginger. She spread out beside them, a quiet purr in her chest.

"You don't know how lucky you kits are," Moonmist whispered, licking each one on the head once before lying her head down to slip back into a deep, dreamless slumber.

* * *

**End of Prologue

* * *

**

**Author's Notes:** Didn't expect that did you? Okay, so maybe some of you did! Sounds like two of our main characters have been getting themselves into a bit of forbidden trouble, huh?


	3. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Warriors, but I do own characters in this story, as well as the plot. Please don't steal.

* * *

**Chapter One**

* * *

"Moonmist. Are you going to wake up?"

The white she-cat opened her eyes groggily and blinked up into the face of Merryclaw. The white and light ginger queen was looking at her with worry in her light brown eyes. Moonmist yawned and stretched in her nest. "What time is it?"

"It's nearly sunhigh," Merryclaw said. "You're not getting sick, are you?"

Moonmist sat up and shook her head. "No! Of course not! I was just a little tired. I'm awake now." She glanced around the nursery. "My kits?"

Merryclaw's tail-tip twitched. "They're outside with Olivekit and Icekit. Brownclaw wasn't very happy to see his grandkits outside without their mother."

Moonmist ducked her head. "They haven't gotten themselves into trouble, have they?"

The other queen wrinkled her nose. "Not _yet_."

With an inward sigh, Moonmist rose from her nest and padded outside. She and Merryclaw had used to get along so well, but ever since she'd had Redkit and Rainkit everything had been different. Moonmist looked around WindClan's camp. She finally spotted Redkit and Rainkit by the fresh-kill pile with Olivekit and Icekit. When she approached, she realized that Redkit and Olivekit were dragging a small rabbit away from the fresh-kill pile. Icekit was giggling hysterically nearby with Rainkit.

"And what do you two think you're doing?" Moonmist demanded.

Redkit dropped his mouthful of rabbit and looked up at his mother. "We're going to hide this rabbit somewhere nobody will find it, until it rots and stinks up the whole camp!"

Olivekit groaned. "Redkit! You're not supposed to say!"

The tiny, ginger tom's ears twisted back. "I'm sorry!"

"Now, why would you want to go and do a thing like that?" Moonmist asked the two. She hooked a claw into the rabbit and dragged it back to the pile.

Redkit plopped himself down and looked up at her excitedly. "We thought it would be funny when it stunk up the whole camp and everybody had to go searching for it!"

Olivekit grumbled and sat down next to Redkit. "Will you shut up? You're not supposed to give away our whole plan, you mouse-brain!"

"Sorry," Redkit said, ashamed.

"Don't listen to her, Redkit. It's not right to tell lies and keep secrets," Moonmist said.

Olivekit tilted her head curiously. "But, Moonmist! You're keeping a secret from everybody, aren't you?"

"Olivekit!" Merryclaw snapped as she walked up. "That is not a nice thing to say! Come along. We're going for a quick walk. Icekit, you come too."

Moonmist watched the two kits scamper off after their mother.

"Moonmist, what did Olivekit mean? Are you really keeping a secret from everybody?" Redkit looked up at her with wide, blue eyes. At four moons old, his eyes were just beginning to take on a hint of the dark amber they'd be when he was older. Amber eyes that would be very similar to his father's.

"Now, if I told you that, it wouldn't be a secret anymore, would it?" Moonmist said.

"No!" Redkit said. "It wouldn't be a secret anymore. But why are you keeping a secret? And why can't you tell us?" He looked at Rainkit as she walked over to them.

Moonmist stroked Rainkit's back with her tail. "Sometimes you have to keep a secret because the truth will hurt cats that you love."

Rainkit tilted her head as she looked up at Moonmist. There was a curious look in the little she-kit's eyes. Rainkit's eyes still hadn't changed from their kitten blue.

"I know it sounds confusing, Rainkit. But you just have to trust me," Moonmist whispered.

"Hey, Moonmist! Glad to see you're finally awake!"

She and the kits turned to see Smokefrost padding toward them. He had a rabbit in his jaws. Brackenthorn and Rockpelt were right behind him with more prey. The three toms dropped their prey onto the fresh-kill pile. Without a word, Brackenthorn and Rockpelt walked away. Smokefrost sat down next to Moonmist.

"How are you today, Redkit?" Smokefrost asked.

"I'm great! But Moonmist caught me and Olivekit trying to sneak a rabbit out of the fresh-kill pile," Redkit admitted.

Smokefrost leaned down. "And why were you trying to do that?"

"We were going to hide it so it could rot and stink up the whole camp!" Redkit replied.

The gray tom laughed loudly.

Moonmist sighed. Despite all of the angry looks and sharp words she and her kits got from their other Clanmates, her closest family members still cared about them. Her parents, Brownclaw and Cloudpool, often watched the kits so she could leave the camp and stretch her legs for a bit. Smokefrost was always lending an eager ear to Redkit's even more eager tongue. She'd noticed the little tom could never help himself from answering a direct question with the truth. As for Rainkit, nobody could understand the mute she-kit more than her great-uncle Smokefrost. Moonmist supposed that Smokefrost treated them like the kits he'd never had. Despite many moons, he and his mate, Breezeheart, still had no kits.

"What did you think of this plan, Rainkit?" Smokefrost asked, leaning down so he was eye to eye with the little white she-kit.

Rainkit opened and closed her mouth as if she were really speaking.

Smokefrost nodded solemnly. "Of course! Of course! You thought it was the stupidest thing you'd ever seen!"

Rainkit's tiny tail lashed back and forth jerkily, and she shook her head. She slammed her paws into the ground, alternating them back and forth.

"I know, I'm just teasing you," Smokefrost chuckled. "I bet you were laughing at them the whole time!"

Rainkit's tail wagged her tail, and she nodded.

Moonmist listened to the conversation and watched how her kits reacted with Smokefrost. If the whole Clan was this receptive to the two kits, she imagined life would be so much easier for them all. Especially for poor Rainkit. WindClan's elderly medicine cat, Dovewing, who was due to retire anyday now and pass on her duties to her apprentice, Roseheart, had diagnosed Rainkit with vocal chords that didn't work properly. The kit couldn't so much as mew or purr despite how hard she tried.

After realizing she had one kit who couldn't talk at all and one who couldn't stop talking, Moonmist had decided that this was how StarClan had decided to punish her for mating with Tigerflame. If Redkit could only speak the truth whenever he was asked a direct question, there would never be any chance of telling him who his real father was. The moment someone asked him directly, he'd let it all out in a heartbeat. Rainkit, however, couldn't tell someone a secret if her life depended on it. How could Moonmist explain that to Tigerflame? How could she tell her secret mate that their kits, who she described as perfect, were really anything but? And it wasn't fair if she let only Rainkit know, and not Redkit, that their father was from another Clan.

* * *

Tigerflame dragged himself back into camp. His paws ached. His pelt stung where a bramble bush had snagged him. There weren't many bramble bushes on ShadowClan's territory, and he'd just so happened to chase a mouse right into one. The ginger tom padded slowly over to the fresh-kill pile with Burntpelt and Snowfire, who had been out on the dawn patrol with him. Just as they had reached the camp after their patrol, Furyclaw had told them to go out hunting. The sun still hadn't even reached all the way above the mountains in the distance when the three of them turned around and did as Furyclaw told them. It was now nearly sunhigh.

Snowfire dropped her sparrow on the fresh-kill pile. She watched Burntpelt walk stiffly away toward the warriors' den. The young she-cat turned to Tigerflame. She was a gray tabby she-cat with dark gray stripes and a white chest and paws. Her yellow eyes were dull this morning. "Tigerflame, I'm not sure how much longer I can go on like this."

He flicked an ear at her. "I don't know what you're talking about, Snowfire."

She glared at him. "I think you do. You're looking more tired than Burntpelt over there. I mean, look at him! And look at yourself. You can barely keep your eyes open. I haven't been a warrior for long, but even I can see Furyclaw is working us all too hard."

He blinked at her. "I'm fine, Snowfire."

The she-cat shook her head and opened her mouth again.

"Just drop it, okay?" Tigerflame hissed at her. "Furyclaw is the deputy, understand? We can't go against his word. Or do you want to take the chance of being exiled from ShadowClan?"

She just continued to glare at him. "Tigerflame, I understand if you don't want to speak against him because he's your father, but honestly. His actions must drive you crazy. I know if my father was leader and acted like that, it would drive me over the edge!"

Tigerflame sneered at her. "Your father wouldn't last an hour as ShadowClan's leader. You know well enough how weak-minded he is compared to the other toms."

Snowfire growled. "That's low, Tigerflame. You think you're all high and mighty because your father is deputy now? Because you were some prophecy cat who left our Clan _right_ before the hardest season of the year?"

"I never said that," Tigerflame spat. "Do you want to know the truth?" He lowered his voice. "I hate it. Furyclaw is trying too hard to show Crimsonstar that he's worthy of being deputy. But all he's really doing is wearing us down! It's the end of leaf-bare. Prey is scarce. Our Clanmates are thin. And all he can think about is that he needs to look busy so Crimsonstar won't think she chose the wrong cat for the job. It has nothing to do with the fact he's my father, or that I was a cat in a prophecy."

"What are you two arguing about over here?" Pineroot shouted, walking toward them with Speckledrabbit beside him. The broad-shouldered, silver and cream tom was glowering at the two of them, but Speckledrabbit, his very pregnant mate, looked worried.

"It's nothing, Pineroot," Snowfire said. "Tigerflame and I were just debating over who would get to eat this sparrow. I say I caught it, so I should get to eat it."

Pineroot rolled his eyes at the two of them. "Mouse-brains. Why don't you just share the stupid bird? Either that or do something real useful, like bring some fresh-kill to the nursery for Speckledrabbit! She needs to keep her strength up."

"But Speckledrabbit is right here!" Tigerflame protested.

"She won't be in a minute!" Pineroot's amber eyes flashed. "Come on, Speckledrabbit. I think you've had a long enough of a walk today."

The black-spotted gray she-cat nodded. "I am feeling a bit winded." She cringed. "And the kits just started moving around a whole bunch."

Pineroot gently placed a paw on his mate's flank. His ears twisted forward. "Dear, I don't think that's the kits."

Speckledrabbit gasped. "Then what is it?"

"You're having contractions!" Pineroot's eyes brightened.

"I'm what?" Speckledrabbit cringed again. Her eyes widened. "Oh, great StarClan! I am!"

Pineroot turned quickly to Tigerflame and Snowfire. "Go get Shadowheart. I'm taking Speckledrabbit back to the nursery!"

"Oh, yay!" Snowfire said, her lips pulled back in a grin. "Come on, Tigerflame!"

With a sigh, Tigerflame followed Snowfire over to the medicine cat's den. They found Shadowheart with Petalmoth. The medicine cat was pressing her paws against the ginger and white she-cat's stomach.

"Are you sure?" Petalmoth asked hesitantly.

"Very sure," Shadowheart nodded. She turned as Tigerflame and Snowfire entered. "Hello. What's the matter?"

"Nothing! Unless you count Speckledrabbit having her kits right now a bad thing," Snowfire replied.

Shadowheart stood up. "Petalmoth, I'm finished. I have to see to Speckledrabbit now."

"Oh, go! She's going to need you!" Petalmoth said, rolling onto her paws.

The medicine cat grabbed a mouthful of herbs and slipped out.

"What're you doing in here, Petalmoth?" Snowfire wondered of the she-cat.

Petalmoth curled her tail up over her back. "I had a feeling, and I just needed Shadowheart to confirm it." She looked at Tigerflame. "You're going to be an uncle, Tigerflame!"

Tigerflame twitched his ears as Snowfire exclaimed loudly and congratulated Petalmoth. The two she-cats laughed and continued to talk clamorously about when Petalmoth had started feeling a little off, and whether she'd told Russetfrost yet.

The whole time, Tigerflame couldn't help but think about Moonmist. Nobody had reacted to her bearing his kits like Snowfire was with Petalmoth. He felt so wretched, knowing if he had just kept his feelings to himself that he and Moonmist would have never happened. If they hadn't gone off together that last night before they'd returned to the lakes, Redkit and Rainkit would have never been born. Moonmist wouldn't be persecuted in WindClan for having kits and not admitting who the father was. And if he and Moonmist had never happened, wouldn't he have been able to find someone in ShadowClan, like Russetfrost had? There were plenty of single she-cats in ShadowClan still, including Snowfire.

He looked closer at Snowfire now. She was rather pretty. Perhaps not as beautiful as Moonmist, whose soft pelt shown like moonlight and whose eyes were like inviting, cool blue pools of water. Snowfire was much rougher around the edges than Moonmist. Though both she-cats were bold in spirit, you were more likely to hear a harsh word from Snowfire. Moonmist was always happily optimistic, while Snowfire was cautious and weary about everything.

_Must have to do with where they grew up_, Tigerflame thought. _Everybody knows ShadowClan cats take care of themselves._

"Tigerflame? Are you okay?" Snowfire asked, prodding him with a paw. "Aren't you going to congratulate Petalmoth? She is giving you some nieces or nephews!"

The tom shook his head. "Sorry. I'm...tired. I was daydreaming. Congratulations, Petalmoth. You should go tell Russetfrost right away."

"I will! Thank you, Tigerflame!" Petalmoth trotted out of the den.

Snowfire looked at him haughtily, like he'd just proven the point she was trying to make earlier.

"What?" Tigerflame flicked his whiskers. "Stop looking at me like that."

The she-cat swatted his ears with her tail. "Somebody's grumpy! Does little Tigerflame need a nap?"

He batted her tail away with his own tail. "Yes, actually. Little Tigerflame would very much like a nap. But little Tigerflame is afraid that the big, bad deputy won't let him."

Snowfire laughed and poked his ribs with a paw. "I could cover for you. Like I did back there with Pineroot and Speckledrabbit." The she-cat giggled. "Oh, I'm so excited! I can't wait to see their kits!"

Tigerflame rolled his eyes. "Their going to be like any other kits in ShadowClan."

Snowfire looked at him cautiously. "So you haven't thought about having kits of your own? I think you would make a great father."

"I...well...um..." Tigerflame didn't know how to respond. It wasn't like he could tell her that he had kits already!

She laughed. "Did I make the high and mighty Tigerflame speechless?"

Tigerflame growled and pounced on her. She squealed beneath his paws. "I thought I was little Tigerflame. Now I'm high and mighty again?"

The she-cat looked up at him as he pressed his paws into her shoulders. "Tigerflame, I don't think you could ever be high and mighty. Strong and noble, maybe. But you don't have a haughty bone in your body, even if you act like you do!"

Tigerflame looked down at her, almost as if he were seeing her for the first time. She really was very pretty. Her gray fur was striped with darker gray and black stripes that almost seemed to melt across her back and legs. There was a white patch of fur on her chest, and all four of her paws were white. She had the regular tabby markings in black on her forehead, and her muzzle was a rosy brown color ending in a blush pink nose. But her eyes were really what caught his attention. They weren't just a singular, flat color like Moonmist's. Snowfire's eyes were yellow with the slightest tinge of green around the pupils. If Moonmist's eyes were like water, Snowfire's were like fire. And that's when he realized the core difference between Moonmist and Snowfire. Moonmist consumed his thoughts as if he were drowning, but Snowfire set his whole body tingling as if he were burning.

The ginger tom stepped back, releasing Snowfire from beneath him. She looked at him, confused now. He couldn't do this. Not when he was already so much in love with Moonmist. He couldn't allow himself to fall in love with another she-cat, even if she was the right she-cat. Even if she, Snowfire, was the cat he was supposed to fall in love with in the first place.

* * *

**End Chapter One**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I'm already falling in love with Redkit and Rainkit! I'm so evil to my characters, aren't I?


	4. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Warriors, but I do own characters in this story. And the plot. Don't steal, please.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

* * *

A tiny nose poked out from a hole in a thick tree root that stuck up out of the dirt. The nose twitched. Whiskers wiggled through the air. Slowly, a head and body followed the nose out. In the shadows, a slender orange form lay in waiting. The mouse skittered across a few leaves and snatched the nut it had been going for. A split second later, the mouse was dead beneath the paws of the ginger hunter.

"Good catch, Ghostwind!" Skunkpelt said as she bounded over with a mouse dangling from her teeth by its tail. "You think we can head back yet?"

Darkeye padded over with a vole in his mouth. "Yes. We've been at it for a few hours. Most of the prey knows we're out here by now."

Ghostwind picked up his mouse and followed the other two back toward ThunderClan's camp. It had been six moons since he, his sister, Ashflower, and their Clan's medicine cat apprentice, Ravenheart, had gone away to follow the words of a prophecy given to them by the heavenly cats they called StarClan. The three had gone with cats from the other four Clans. Working together, the group had been successful in saving a faraway Clan called SkyClan from being defeated by a malicious cat who had somehow gotten control of a pack of stray dogs. They had also helped a Tribe of cats who had lost their home find a new one in the mountains.

"That's not a lot of prey," Cloverpelt, Darkeye's mate, said as she watched the three of them drop their catches onto the fresh-kill pile.

"It's leaf-bare," Darkeye said with a sigh. "You know prey is always scarcer at this time of the year."

Ghostwind stretched himself out and curled his tail up over his back before walking away to look for his own mate, Smudgewing. He wasn't really keen on listening to Darkeye and Cloverpelt complain about the scarce food supply and cold weather. This was nothing compared to what it had been like traveling. Most of the time they'd had to sleep curled up in the roots of trees. Nests were a luxury when you were traveling. And prey? Sometimes they'd been in areas where prey was harder to find and it took longer to find a meal, which was usually made more difficult from fatigue because they'd been walking all day.

"Oh, Ghostwind. It wasn't that bad," a voice purred in his ear.

He turned to see Ashflower walking toward him. His sister's silver pelt was looking more dull, but her silvery-green eyes still held the same fiery spirit they always did.

"Are you spying on my thoughts again, Ashflower?" Ghostwind smirked at her.

Many of the cats who had been chosen by StarClan to go on the journey to SkyClan and the mountains had been given strange, unique powers. Ashflower could read minds. Their brother, Cottonclaw, who hadn't actually gone on the trip with them, could blend himself into his surroundings so that he became invisible. And Ghostwind could see into time, whether it was past, present, or future, as well as slip into the dreams of other cats. He'd also discovered that he had the innate ability to speak in magick tongue, an old language that could make almost anything happen. Animals could be turned into other animals, or shadows, or pure light. And while on the journey with the other Clan cats, Ghostwind had found out that magick could also be used to kill others in a clean, efficient way that was unlike anything that could be done by claws or teeth alone.

"Ghostwind, you're blanking again," Ashflower said, touching his shoulder with her tail-tip.

He shook his head. "Sorry, Ashflower. Sometimes I can't help it."

His sister twitched her whiskers and looked at him worriedly. "You need to stop dwelling in the past, Ghostwind. I can see the scenes that flash through your head as clearly as you do. You might not realize it, but you've been using your power to look into the past. If you keep doing that, you might stop recognizing the present."

Ghostwind twisted his ears back. "I just can't help it. I hear our Clanmates complain about the cold, and being hungry, and it makes me remember what we went through."

"Nobody else in our Clan could ever understand what we went through. If you need to talk, Ghostwind, you know I'm here for you. And I'm sure Cottonclaw will lend you an ear whenever you need one," Ashflower purred.

Ghostwind sighed and nodded. "Have you seen Smudgewing?"

"She went out on a border patrol," Ashflower responded. "Actually, she's been gone for a while now."

"Who was she with?" Ghostwind asked.

"Stoneheart, Cottonclaw, and Sparrowpaw, actually," Ashflower said. "What? You don't think they're in any trouble, do you?"

"Hm. That depends. What border were they checking?" Ghostwind asked.

Ashflower frowned. "ShadowClan."

Ghostwind sneered. "That's what I was afraid of." His eyes glazed over as he automatically peered into the present, searching along their border with ShadowClan. It was so much easier now for him to use his powers. His spine tingled as battle cries rang in his ears. There! Smudgewing and the others were fighting some ShadowClan cats on ThunderClan's territory! There was dead prey piled up nearby.

"Prey stealers!" Ghostwind snarled. His eyes cleared. The tom looked around to see who was closest to them. "Stormtail! Mistmeadow! A border patrol needs our help! ShadowClan has crossed our borders!"

The two cats didn't question him as he turned and fled from the camp, Ashflower, Stormtail, and Mistmeadow right behind him.

* * *

Cottonclaw finished spraying another tree and caught up to the others. Stoneheart was marking a bramble bush on their side of the territory. Smudgewing was watching Sparrowpaw leap up to slap her paws at a few dead leaves that fell from the trees. He chuckled at his apprentice as she pounced on the leaves and batted them. Sparrowpaw, like Cottonclaw and his siblings, had been gifted by StarClan with a strange power. Her gift was that of knowledge. She could know everything about a cat she'd never met, as long as she knew someone who knew that cat. It was the same with events and names and anything else she could possibly gleam from a single cat. He was very proud of the young she-cat, who had come a long way since she and her brothers, Bearpaw and Mousepaw, had been found as kits on ThunderClan's territory with their dying mother, Uma.

Before she'd died, Uma had given them a prophecy that spoke of a sparrow flying over a mouse and bear. Cottonclaw had been giving the prophecy a lot of thought lately, and he'd come to the conclusion it was definitely about Sparrowpaw and her brothers. Sparrowpaw was the only one of the three who had special powers, and she had far surpassed her brothers in her battle skills. She also helped Maggotstripe and Ravenheart, ThunderClan's medicine cats, sometimes, so she knew everything about healing. The young she-cat was going to be a huge asset to the Clan when she became a full warrior.

"Come on. Let's keep going," Stoneheart said, smiling at Sparrowpaw.

Cottonclaw had definitely noticed Stoneheart beginning to have an interest in his apprentice. He thought the two suited each other. Stoneheart was, much like his name, very stone-faced and quiet. However, Sparrowpaw was loud, boisterous, and always happy. It was nice to see her bring a smile to Stoneheart's face, and Cottonclaw could already tell she was bringing out a softer side of the young warrior.

"What was that?" Sparrowpaw suddenly stopped. Her pelt began to stand on end.

Cottonclaw stopped behind the others. He opened his mouth wide and angled his ears forward, trying to catch a scent or sound. Though he doubted he could sense anything. Sparrowpaw often caught the scent or sound of prey even before they came into sight. It was why she was the best hunter in the Clan, despite still being an apprentice.

"I don't hear anything," Smudgewing whispered.

Sparrowpaw hissed at her to be quiet. The apprentice stood almost as still a boulder. The only thing moving were her ears. Cottonclaw watched her twist them forward and side to side, trying to pinprick whatever it was she'd originally heard.

"They're being sneaky," Sparrowpaw said. Cottonclaw saw her shoulders relax, and he knew she was gathering information in the way only Sparrowpaw could.

"ShadowClan. Five. Roguestripe. Driftsoot. Needleheart. Cinderbranch. Foxstripe. On our territory. Stealing!" She suddenly shook her head and shouted. "They're stealing our prey!"

"Where, Sparrowpaw?" Cottonclaw bounded forward to stand beside her.

"Not much further. Far enough away they can't hear us now," she replied.

"I'll go get..." Stoneheart said, about to take off.

"No! There's no time. By the time you bring help, they'll be long gone!" Cottonclaw snapped. "We have to go now. Are you all ready?"

Sparrowpaw's eyes widened, but she nodded. Stoneheart nodded once.

"Let's go," Smudgewing said.

"I'll go in first. You three will need to circle around. Stay hidden until after I've attacked them. I'll be invisible, but you'll know when I'm attacking," Cottonclaw said swiftly, hardly taking a breath as he ordered them.

The four of them tiptoed through the trees. All four were in their element. They knew this forest. How to hunt in it. How to stay hidden without moving a single twig or leaf. The ShadowClan cats weren't going to know what hit them.

Cottonclaw crouched down to watch the five ShadowClan cats. It was obvious right away that Roguestripe was leading this little expedition. She was hissing at the other four.

"Yes, that's good," the black and white she-cat said to Foxstripe, a ginger tom with darker ginger stripes. "I hate vole myself, but it'll have to do." She turned as Driftsoot, a gray and silver tom, padded up with a skinny mouse dangling from his mouth. "What? You call that prey? That won't even feed a kit! Go and find something better, Driftsoot."

Cottonclaw focused in on the small pile of prey beside Roguestripe. He saw two mice, a sparrow, and now a vole and that skinny mouse. As he was investigating the pile, Needleheart walked up with two finches. The slender, light brown tabby she-cat looked triumphant as she plopped the birds onto the pile.

"Well done, Needleheart! I knew it was wise to bring you with us," Rougestripe praised.

_What in great StarClan are these mouse-brains doing_? Cottonclaw thought with a shake of his head. _Don't they even care that their scent is all over the place here_?

With an inward sigh, Cottonclaw went invisible. Quietly, as if he were stalking prey, he slipped out from his cover and crept up on Roguestripe. The she-cat was now berating Cinderbranch, who had come back to her with nothing. Good. She was distracted.

Cottonclaw unsheathed his claws and slapped Roguestripe's back. The she-cat screeched in terror and spun around. Driftsoot and Cinderbranch stared at her in surprise.

"Who's there?" Rougestripe snarled.

But the only answer she got was the battle cries from Smudgewing, Stoneheart, and Sparrowpaw as they came racing from the forest. Smudgewing slammed into Foxstripe, Stoneheart tackled Driftsoot, and Sparrowpaw flew at Cinderbranch's head. Roguestripe spun again to see her Clanmates being attacked, and Cottonclaw swiped at the back of her neck. He leaped backwards as she turned again. The she-cat's eyes were wide with fright.

"Who's there?" she snarled again.

Cottonclaw swiped again, catching her across the face. She stumbled, not expecting the blow, and fell to her stomach. Roguestripe looked around, her eyes roaming right over Cottonclaw.

Suddenly, her eyes filled with understanding. "It's Cottonclaw, isn't it? Tigerflame told us all about your little disappearing ability!"

_Fox dung_, Cottonclaw thought briefly before letting himself appear again.

"Oh, he did, did he?" Cottonclaw sneered.

Roguestripe was on him in a flash. He dodged and parried her blows. She was like a crazed cat, and he could have sworn some of her claw swipes were aimed straight for his throat.

The fight didn't last much longer. Another battle cry rang through the trees. Cottonclaw glanced over to see Ghostwind flying out of the shadows with Ashflower, Stormtail, and Mistmeadow behind him. All four of them looked ready for battle.

"Retreat!" Roguestripe screamed.

The ShadowClan cats fled. Ashflower and Stormtail chased after them, screeching so loudly their cries echoed through the area.

Cottonclaw sighed and sat down. "Thanks, Ghostwind."

But his brother was pressing himself against Smudgewing, asking her if she was okay and telling her he'd been so worried about her. Cottonclaw sighed. He should have figured as much.

* * *

Tigerflame stretched out in a patch of sunlight. The camp was bustling with anxious, excited cats. By now, everybody had heard that Speckledrabbit was having her kits. He felt like he was being suffocated in the camp, with practically all of his Clanmates clamoring around. But he understood why they were so excited. Pineroot and Speckledrabbit's kits would be the first kits in ShadowClan since Honeyshine had given birth to Sorrelpaw.

_I wonder what it would have been like if my kits had been born in ShadowClan_, Tigerflame thought. Without meaning to, he glanced over at Snowfire. She was sitting with her brother, Volemask, and their mother, Silkfur. It looked like Silkfur was reminiscing about when her two kits had been born. Volemask groaned, but Snowfire looked excited to hear about their birth.

"Tigerflame! There you are!" Russetfrost, his brother, came bounding over. "Petalmoth told me she gave you the good news! Aren't you excited?"

Tigerflame lifted his head. "Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?"

Russetfrost sat down beside him. "I don't know. You have a generally grumpy outlook on life, so I had my doubts. But you're going to be an uncle. And I'm going to be a father! What's not to like about that?"

_We're back for six months, and Russetfrost is already fully engrossed in Clan life again_, Tigerflame thought as he listened to his brother go on about how excited he was to be a father. _But I'm still stuck in the past, wishing we were still out there. Still traveling. With no boundaries between me and Moonmist. It was so much simpler back then._

The camp entrance rustled. Tigerflame turned to see his mother running into camp. Driftsoot, Needleheart, Cinderbranch, and Foxstripe came running in behind her. All five of them were bristling, and if Tigerflame was right they'd been in a fight recently. Some of the cats near the entrance gasped and called out.

"Roguestripe! What's wrong? Why haven't you brought back any prey?" Furyclaw demanded as he stalked toward him. It was as if the deputy had appeared out of nowhere. Gone one moment, there the next.

His mate sneered and dragged her claws through the dirt. "Those stupid ThunderClan cats caught us, Furyclaw!"

"What? How could you let yourselves get caught? You were told to get in and get out!" Furyclaw snapped.

Other cats were murmuring to one another now as they listened to the exchange. Furyclaw had actually told Roguestripe to go over the border and steal prey? Tigerflame sat up, his neck fur bristling. Russetfrost touched his shoulder with his tail-tip in a warning gesture.

"I'm sorry, Furyclaw. We had to retreat. There was no time to grab the prey," Roguestripe said.

Furyclaw's tail lashed through the air. "I send you out to do one simple task, and you can't even perform it!" He grumbled to himself. "Go! Get out of this camp. Fetch us some actual prey that will fill our bellies. No more words of being caught by ThunderClan! Stay on our side of the border this time!"

Roguestripe flicked her tail at the others, and the five of them left camp once more. Tigerflame watched Foxstripe limp on one of his front legs. Even from here he could see the drying blood on the warrior's paw. He needed to have that looked at!

"Wait! Foxstripe, come back!" Honeyshine called. The old warrior hobbled after her son.

The warrior turned around. "What?"

"Your paw! You need to see Shadowheart!" Honeyshine replied.

Furyclaw hissed. "Shadowheart is busy with Speckledrabbit. Foxstripe, ignore your worrying mother and do as I told you. Your paw can wait until Shadowheart has a free moment."

Tigerflame watched Foxstripe hesitate. He looked at Honeyshine, whose amber eyes were pleading him to stay. But the tom shook his head, too terrified of Furyclaw to disobey. Limping, Foxstripe went out to catch up with the others.

_Great StarClan. If Furyclaw keeps up like this, we're going to lose warriors to fatigue and small injuries_! Tigerflame thought to himself.

But what could he do about it if everyone was too scared to stick up against Furyclaw?

* * *

"That's it, Barkpaw. Keep your tail from moving. If you let it rustle the leaves, the mice and voles will escape."

The small, brown tabby tom crouched and slithered across the ground. His tail was utterly still as he kept it curled up over his back. He pounced on a small pebble that had been fished out of the lake. Barkpaw's light brown eyes lit up as he turned eagerly to his mentor, a slender black tom that was sitting nearby.

Eaglefeather dipped his head. "Good job, Barkpaw. I know it doesn't come as naturally as catching fish, but we have to make sure we have a variety of hunting skills in case something happens to our supply of fish."

The young apprentice sat down. "But, Eaglefeather, the whole lake is filled with fish. Right? What could possibly happen that would stop us from getting fish from the lake?"

Eaglefeather looked out toward the lake. The reeds around them swayed in a light breeze. It was a rather calm day compared to how windy and cold it had been the last few moons. The normally clear, blue sky was etched with white clouds. But the RiverClan tom could see a dark smudge in the distance that meant rain was coming.

"There's always the chance of the lake flooding, or the area around our territory flooding," Eaglefeather explained to his wide-eyed, innocent apprentice. "You wouldn't want to try to fish in a lake with waves that are taller than you, would you?"

Barkpaw shook his head. "No way!" He paused. "You don't think it's going to flood soon, do you? Yellowheart said he was feeling achy, which he said means a heavy rain is coming."

Eaglefeather laughed. "Yellowheart is just an old elder. He's achy all the time. You have nothing to worry about, Barkpaw. Even if it does flood, we have our other hunting skills."

A bush rustled nearby and the mentor and apprentice turned to see Brushgrove step out from between the reeds. The gray and black tom nodded to both of them as he approached. Eaglefeather noticed the older tom's amber eyes were guarded and weary.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your lesson," Brushgrove said in his usual quiet, polite way. "But Lionstar would like to see you, Eaglefeather. It's important."

Eaglefeather wondered what RiverClan's leader could possibly want with him. But he could tell that Brushgrove was not willing to give away information. At least, not when Barkpaw was still with them.

"Barkpaw, why don't you run on ahead and find your sisters?" Eaglefeather said.

Barkpaw wasn't dumb. He knew when his mentor was trying to get rid of him. "Aw, Eaglefeather. Why can't I go with you to see Lionstar?"

"Don't argue with me, Barkpaw," Eaglefeather said. "Go on."

With a grumble, Barkpaw scampered away into the reeds. Eaglefeather waited a moment to make sure his apprentice was really gone before he turned to Brushgrove.

"Why does my father want to see me?" Eaglefeather asked.

Brushgrove shook his head. "Let him tell you that. It's not my place to say anything."

That answer only made Eaglefeather more curious. He sighed and took off for the camp. Brushgrove followed behind him at an easier pace.

When the two reached camp, they found it nearly deserted. It seemed most of the cats were out hunting or patroling. Eaglefeather immediately saw Lionstar sitting near his den with Ashwhisker, the Clan's deputy, and a few of the older warriors, including Woodpuddle, Willowsky, and his mother, Daisyclaw. The only elder present was Splinterclaw.

"Come on, Eaglefeather. Don't be shy," Lionstar called out to him.

Brushgrove walked over to sit beside Woodpuddle and Lilyfur. Nervous, Eaglefeather followed him over to the group of older cats. What was going on here? Why had Lionstar brought together a bunch of the older warriors and elders? Was RiverClan in some sort of trouble?

"Calm down, Eaglefeather. I can see the tension in your shoulders," Lionstar said, of course trying to soothe his son's anxiety. "I thought it a good idea to get your input on a certain matter, seeing as you've been through a lot yourself recently. And because of the fact that you may be one of the few impacted the most by this decision."

Eaglefeather flicked his ear. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean."

Lionstar nodded. "You know we lost many cats during the greencough epidemic. RiverClan has so few cats these days, we can barely keep up with duties on a regular basis."

"Lionstar, I'm still not sure what you're getting at," Eaglefeather said with a shake of his head. "I do know that, but it isn't like there's much we can do about it. Is there?" He suddenly had his doubts. Had Lionstar come up with a solution, somehow?

"Yes, actually. There is something that we can do about it," Lionstar said. "But you may not like it. Willowsky was the one to bring up the idea. She may the most crucial factor to this, too. Eaglefeather, what do you think of the idea of asking a number of kittypets to join RiverClan?"

"What?" Eaglefeather yelped. Out of everything he would have thought his father would say, it wasn't that! Inviting kittypets to join RiverClan? Suddenly, he remembered that Willowsky was there. She had been a kittypet at one point in time, before she decided to join RiverClan.

"I know, it's a shock. But think about it. If we were able to find a few kittypets to join RiverClan, our numbers would increase. Yes, we would have to worry about teaching them our ways. And whether or not they can handle themselves out here. But Willowsky and her siblings in the other Clans are prime examples of how a kittypet can make a grand warrior," Lionstar said.

"But why do you want my input about this?" Eaglefeather whispered hoarsely. He suddenly felt very young and inept compared to the all of the cats around him.

Lionstar and Daisyclaw glanced at one another before Lionstar's silver eyes bore into him. "Eaglefeather, your mother and I worry that we won't have any grand-kits because there are so few she-cats in RiverClan. How are you and the other young cats supposed to keep RiverClan thriving when there are so few of you? Perhaps, if we find some female kittypets, you may find a mate. As well as some of the other young cats in RiverClan, of course."

Eaglefeather shook his head. His parents wanted to practically force him into finding a mate, just to keep RiverClan's numbers up?

"Eaglefeather," Willowsky said, sounding offended. "Are you shaking your head because you think that kittypets cannot make good warriors?"

"No. I'm shaking my head because I don't think my own parents should want to force me into finding a mate just to keep our Clan going. What about love? Do I not get my own say in who I choose as a mate?"

"Of course you do, dear," Daisyclaw said softly. "Your father and I just worry that the right she-cat for you isn't here in RiverClan."

He sighed. "Fine. I agree with you. But I doubt other cats in the other Clans will understand. How are you going to explain it to them without making us look weak, Lionstar?"

Lionstar flicked his tail. "We will deal with that when the time comes. Besides, the other Clans are efficient at catching fish. Why would ShadowClan or WindClan impose on us?"

Eaglefeather could think of a few reasons. Like a decline in prey, for example. He had noticed the other cats getting thinner over the last few moons. Gatherings were often subdued and quiet due to nobody wanting to give away how weak their Clans were becoming. The black tom had a feeling something was definitely going on in ShadowClan; the usually quick-witted cats were the thinnest and most silent at Gatherings these days, and their pelts were horrifyingly unkept. He worried about Tigerflame and Russetfrost, though he knew he shouldn't.

"Eaglefeather, did you hear me?" Lionstar interrupted his thoughts.

"What? Sorry," Eaglefeather mumbled.

Lionstar twisted his ears forward. "I asked if you would be willing to go with Willowsky and Ashwhisker to the Twolegplace to see if you can find any kittypets who might be willing to join our Clan."

Eaglefeather felt only more shock. "Seriously? You want me to go?"

"Yes, I want you to go. But the question is, are you willing?" Lionstar said, amusement in his silver eyes now.

He thought about it. Stay around camp, hunting for food that was getting more scarce every day? Patrol in endless circles around the borders? Or go off into Twolegplace to see if he could find some kittypets to join his Clan?

"I'll do it," Eaglefeather said. "But not because I'm looking for a mate. I'm only doing this because I know we need more members in RiverClan."

Lionstar's eyes twinkled. "Of course, Eaglefeather."

The black tom doubted his father believed him.

* * *

**End of Chapter Two**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Anybody see a pattern forming? Yes, I'll be switching back and forth between the main characters from the last two books!


	5. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Warriors, but I do own most of the characters in this story. And the plot! Don't steal, please.

* * *

**Chapter Three**

* * *

Eaglefeather couldn't believe he was doing this. It was the morning after his father had asked him to go to the Twolegplace to find some kittypets willing to join RiverClan. He was following Willowsky and Ashwhisker, who were solemnly quiet. He glanced back over his shoulder in the direction of RiverClan's camp. Was this plan even going to work? Most of the kittypets in Twolegplace probably feared the lake and the area around it, which would mean they would fear him and the others, as well.

It wasn't like Eaglefeather thought this mission wasn't important. He just didn't think they would succeed. He knew the stories of all the kittypets that had helped them out in the war against DarkClan, but after the war ended most of those kittypets had headed back to their comfortable lifestyles. Only five of the kittypets had remained in the territories around the lake, Willowsky being one of them.

"Do you even know if any of the kittypets are going to recognize you, Willowsky?" Eaglefeather asked, trotting faster to catch up to her and Ashwhisker.

The she-cat flicked an ear. "I admit, it has been a long time. But we're looking for younger kittypets. Ones who I won't know because they came to the Twolegplace after I decided to stay in RiverClan. Many of my past friends will be too old and lazy now to even consider leaving their homes again."

"Oh," Eaglefeather murmured. So they would be looking for complete strangers. Great.

After skirting around LightClan's territory and crossing the Thunderpath, they headed straight for the Twolegplace. Eaglefeather couldn't help but remember the last time he'd come this way. It had been over six moons ago when he and the cats from the other Clans had followed the prophecy away from their homes around the lake. It had been the hardest thing he and his sister, Swanpool, had ever done because RiverClan had been riddled with greencough. Many of his Clanmates had died while he and Swanpool were away.

"Here we are," Willowsky said as they reached the edge of the huge Twolegplace. "I'd suggest splitting up, if I wasn't afraid the two of you would get yourselves lost."

Ashwhisker chuckled. "That's why you're here. Where should we start first, Willowsky?"

The gray she-cat looked around. "Let's just follow the main Thunderpath and see if we can find anybody. I'm sure there will be cats walking around this time of day."

Willowsky took the lead as they headed into Twolegplace. It felt so cramped and claustrophic to Eaglefeather, who wasn't used to huge Twoleg nests all around him. It had been nervewracking enough trying to find his way through the first time with the others, but now that he was actually looking for cats in this maze of walls and nests, it was even more intimidating.

He noticed Willowsky looked calm and content. She had been born and raised here, so of course she would feel comfortable. He was relieved to see that Ashwhisker, on the other hand, was looking just as anxious as he felt.

There was a loud thump and a booming bark that ripped through the air, scaring all three of them into a run. Willowsky darted into a bush. Ashwhisker and Eaglefeather followed suit. They burst through the other side to find themselves on a square of grass in front of another Twoleg nest. Willowsky had skidded to a stop in front of him, and Eaglefeather was able to stop just in time so that he didn't run into her.

A cat was sitting in the middle of the square of grass, staring at them curiously. It was a huge, ginger tom with dark amber eyes and darker ginger stripes. There was no collar around his neck to indicate he was a kittypet.

"Hello. You're not from around here, are you?" The tom's eyes sparkled with laughter as he gave a loud, rumbling purr.

"No, we're not. We're cats from RiverClan, one of the Clans from the lake territories," Willowsky replied without any hesitation. Her fur bristled.

The tom's ears twitched. "Really? I've heard about you cats. I can't believe such ferocious felines could be scared by a dog." He gave a toothy grin.

"Well, we didn't expect it," Willowsky responded. She sat and curled her tail around her paws. "My name is Willowsky. These are my friends, Ashwhisker and Eaglefeather. What's your name?"

The tom stretched and curled his tail up and over his back. He gave them another toothy grin and padded a few steps closer. "Everybody calls me Ace."

"It's nice to meet you, Ace. Are you a stray, or do you have housefolk?" Willowsky wondered of the friendly tom.

He laughed heartily. "Do I have housefolk? That's the funniest question I've ever been asked! I'm not tied down to any housefolk around here. You could say I take advantage of them instead. Quite a few nests around here put out milk and food, and I can take whatever I want."

"Have you ever been a kittypet?" Ashwhisker wondered.

Ace laughed again. "Never! I like the outdoors too much to let some Twoleg lock me up in one of their nests!"

Willowsky stood up suddenly. "Would you like to join our Clan?"

The tom's eyes widened. "Well, straight to the point, aren't you? I had a feeling there was some reason you three had ventured into this Twolegplace." He flicked his tail. "What's in it for me if I join your Clan?"

Willowsky relaxed her shoulders. "We would train you in our ways of honor. You would learn battle techniques and ways to hunt prey in the wild. You would become a member of our Clan and earn a warrior name recognized by all cats around the lake. And if you stay with us long enough, you'll become an elder and be fed and taken care of by younger Clanmates."

Ace looked at each of the three cats. "Living in the wild must be hard. You're all skinnier than a starved rat."

"It can be difficult. But the rewards are great. Making friends. Protecting the Clan's territory from neighboring Clans as well as foxes and badgers. Teaching younger cats how to hunt and fight so that they may continue our traditions. It all makes it worth it," Willowsky said.

Ace nodded. "I get it. You don't have to say it a hundred times."

"Are you interested, then?" Ashwhisker asked, sounding impatient.

"Before you answer, you need to know that you cannot return to Twolegplace after you join us. If you do, you will not be accepted back into RiverClan. We have no place for cats who yearn for the comfortable lifestyle given to them by Twolegs," Willowsky warned.

The ginger tom snorted. "I'm no soft kittypet. And I promise that if I have to leave because it's too much for me, I won't go back and bother you."

Willowsky's eyes brightened. "Wonderful!"

Ace walked closer to them. "But before I go anywhere with you, answer me this."

Eaglefeather swallowed. What in StarClan's name could this tom want?

"Why are you looking for kittypets to join your Clan?" Ace asked.

Eaglefeather breathed a sigh of relief. That wasn't such a tough question to answer, though the answer was rather embarrassing.

With a heavy sigh, Willowsky looked at Ace. "A few moons ago, our Clan was stricken with a horrible sickness. Many of our Clanmates died, leaving us with the fewest number of RiverClan cats that we have seen for many generations. If we do not invite kittypets into our Clan, or accept any willing cat really, we have no hope of surviving."

"So what you really need is kits," Ace said in an understanding tone. Eaglefeather was a little surprised the tom understood their dilemma so easily. "I think I can help you with that. My mate and I will be having kits soon. I'm pretty sure I can persuade her to join RiverClan with me. She lives with Twolegs and knows her kits will be taken away once they are born. If she knows she has an opportunity to watch her kits grow up, she'll take it."

Willowsky purred. "Yes. The more cats you can find who would be willing to join us, the better."

Ace nodded. "I'll talk to some of my aquaintances here in the Twolegplace. I've already got a few toms in mind who haven't been to the Vet."

"The Vet?" Ashwhisker blinked.

"It's another name for the Cutter," Willowsky explained.

"Why don't you meet me back here tomorrow, around the same time? I'll go find my friends and have them all meet us here. You can try and persuade them like you did me," Ace suggested.

"That would be fantastic!" Willowsky said, obviously ecstatic. "Thank you, Ace."

He waved his tail through the air. "It's no trouble. If I'm going to join your Clan, I want to show you that I can be helpful. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Good-bye," Willowsky said before she led Ashwhisker and Eaglefeather away.

"He was really friendly!" Ashwhisker said.

"Yes. I'm glad we were able to find someone who can actually go around for us and find willing kittypets. It would have taken us forever by ourselves," Willowsky agreed.

Something flashed out of the corner of Eaglefeather's eye. He paused and turned his head to see a familiar cat disappear around a corner. But what in StarClan's name would Fernstripe be doing in Twolegplace? She was a LightClan cat! And last time he'd heard, she was pregnant with Reekfur's kits. A pang wrenched through his heart. Fernstripe had been one of the cats who had gone with him and Swanpool on the journey to follow the prophecy. He had mistakenly fallen in love with the pretty she-cat while they'd been on the journey. Of course, nothing had or could have happened between them because they were from two different Clans, and she was already in love with Reekfur, a Clanmate of hers.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts before turning and taking off after the figure that he'd seen. He just had to prove to himself that it wasn't Fernstripe! Willowsky and Ashwhisker shouted after him, but he ignored them and darted around the corner. The cat was gone. He opened his mouth and inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh scent she had left behind. It didn't particularly smell like Fernstripe, but it _had_ been six moons since he'd last seen her.

Eaglefeather followed the scent beneath a bush and onto another square of green, lush grass that pricked his paws. He looked around the Twoleg nest. A tree, still green despite the weather, stood in the middle of the square of grass. Wild bushes lined the walls of the Twoleg nest. There wasn't a single cat in sight.

Suddenly, a yowl rang in his ears, and he felt claws dig into his back. He rolled over and flipped his attacker through the air. She rolled a few times before springing back to her paws to attack him again. Her unsheathed claws went for his ears, but he easily dodged her and moved around to leap on her back and crush her beneath him. Despite how much bigger and heavier he was, she still put up quite a struggle as he pinned her down.

Finally, she stopped wriggling enough for him to see that it was the she-cat he'd mistaken for Fernstripe. It was apparent now why he'd thought she was Fernstripe. This kittypet was a gray-brown with black stripes, a white face and chest, and white paws. Her eyes, which flashed with anger, were a yellow-green. There was no collar around her neck. Minus a few details and she would look very much like Fernstripe.

"Who are you? What do you want? Get off me! Get off my lawn!" she snarled.

Eaglefeather stepped off her. She flipped around and slapped a paw at his face, which he simply batted away with his own paw.

"Will you calm down? I'm sorry if I frightened you. I just thought you were someone that I know...knew." He quickly corrected himself.

That simple slip-up made her pause. "Oh. But aren't you one of those wild cats from the lake? The ones that knaw on bones and kill for pleasure?"

Eaglefeather laughed. "We don't kill for pleasure! And as for knawing on bones, that sounds like something ShadowClan might do."

Her fur began to lie flat. "Who did you think I was?"

He choked on what he was going to say next. The tom closed his mouth and glanced away. How could he explain to her that she looked just like someone he had fallen in love with?

"Oh. It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I was just curious," she whispered.

With a sigh, he turned back to her. "She was a friend. But she's from a different Clan. I haven't seen her in over six moons."

The kittypet tilted her head sadly. "I'm sorry to hear that. Why aren't you allowed to see her? Is it because she's from a different Clan?"

Eaglefeather nodded. "Yeah. We're allowed to have friends in different Clans, but the only time we're encouraged to mingle is every full moon, when we hold Gatherings."

"That sounds so fascinating!" the she-cat said with a gasp. "But why are you here? Why aren't you back home near the lake?"

He hesitated. Should he tell her?

"Oh. Is it a secret? I promise I won't tell anyone you were here," the she-cat said.

"No, it's not a secret. At least, not in our Clan. The other Clans don't know anything about what we're doing. They wouldn't approve," Eaglefeather murmured.

"And what is it that you're doing?"

He fidgeted. "My friends and I are supposed to search for kittypets who would be willing to join RiverClan. We...we lost a lot of our members because of a sickness some moons ago. And if we don't find more cats to increase our numbers, we're not going to survive."

She gasped again. "Oh, that sounds horrible! I can't imagine going through something like that! I'd love to help. I really would." She glanced at the Twoleg nest behind them. "I've lived with these Twolegs since I was a kitten. They'd be so sad if I left them."

Eaglefeather felt his heart drop. For a split second, he'd really hoped she was going to say she'd love to join RiverClan. "I understand. It was um...it was nice meeting you. I'd better go."

"Oh, wait! Please," she pleaded. "If I go with you, will I be able to come back and see my Twolegs?"

Eaglefeather cringed. "I'm sorry, but if you decided to come and live with my Clan, you wouldn't be welcome to come back here. We can't have cats in our Clan who come back here when times are tough and then return to the lake when things get easy again. You can always come and see if living with us is something you...you wouldn't mind. If you decide it's not...not for you, then you can return to Twolegplace." Oh, StarClan. Why did he keep stuttering around this she-cat?

She looked at him curiously with her yellow-green eyes. "You know what, we haven't even introduced ourselves yet. What's your name?"

He cleared his throat. "I'm Eaglefeather."

"Eaglefeather? That's an unusual name," she said.

"It's a warrior name. Everyone where I live has a name like mine," he responded. "Um...so, what's your name?"

She smiled. "I'm Fern."

He could have sworn to StarClan that his heart just skipped a beat. Fern? How could her name be Fern? Was StarClan trying to punish him?

"Is something wrong?" Fern looked worried now.

"Nothing's wrong. It's nice to meet you," Eaglefeather said, unable to say her name aloud. "So...um...er, are you coming with me? Or not?"

She paused before responding. "Yes. But can I at least say good-bye to my Twolegs first?" A pain filled her eyes. "I'm going to be so sad leaving them. But I can't turn down an offer like this one. Not when I've wondered so much about the outside world."

"Of course you can say good-bye," Eaglefeather responded softly. He watched her disappear into the Twoleg nest. His thoughts swirled. These kittypets and strays had homes here in Twolegplace. Though he and the other Clan cats hated Twolegs, these cats had good relationships with them. The Twoleg nests were their homes. How could they ask any kittypet to leave their soft, comfortable life to enter a world filled with border tension, battles, and scarce food?

Fern reappeared. Her eyes were filled with tears as she padded up to him, but she blinked them away as she got closer. His heart thundered in his chest.

"Are you sure about this?" Eaglefeather whispered to her.

The she-cat lifted her chin. "I haven't been more sure of anything in my entire life."

He had to admit, she certainly had courage and spunk. She was going to need that if she really decided to live with RiverClan. He wondered briefly whether she really had what it would take to live in the wild with his Clan.

"We'd better go. My Clanmates are probably looking for me," Eaglefeather said. "I kind of ditched them when I chased after you."

She gasped. "Why would you do that? Twolegplace can be a maze if you don't know your way around!"

"One of them used to be a kittypet around here, so I'm not too worried," Eaglefeather explained.

"What? One of your friends was a house cat?"

"Yeah. I doubt you'd know her, though. She left this Twolegplace to join RiverClan a long time ago," he replied.

They stepped through the bush that surrounded the square patch of grass they'd been standing on. The Twolegplace opened up again around Eaglefeather, and he felt the same claustrophobic feeling he'd had earlier. Fern seemed to notice his anxiety because she tapped his shoulder with her tail.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. I grew up in this place," Fern said. "Where were your friends last time you saw them?"

"That way," Eaglefeather said, flicking his tail in the direction he'd come from.

"Then that's the way to go," Fern said.

The two trotted along in silence. Eaglefeather began to relax. Fern knew her way around this place. There was no way he could get lost with her.

"Eaglefeather! For StarClan's sake! What is wrong with you?" Willowsky rushed toward them. "Ashwhisker and I thought you'd gone mouse-brained on us!"

"Sorry," Eaglefeather said. "But I found someone who is willing to join RiverClan."

Willowsky turned to Fern. "Oh. Hello. I'm sorry if I scared you. Eaglefeather here gave us quite a scare when he suddenly ran off."

"I understand," Fern said. "I'm Fern."

Willowsky titled her head and squinted at the kittypet. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Willowsky, and this is Ashwhisker. How much has Eaglefeather told you?"

"He said your Clan needs more members because of a sickness that caused a lot of your Clanmates to die," Fern replied. "And that I cannot come back here if I decide to live with you."

"Did he explain how dangerous it is?" Willowsky glanced at Eaglefeather.

"There's no need to explain. I already know there are dangers. But ever since I can remember, I've wanted to leave this place and see the world outside. This is my chance, and I'm going to take it. If it turns out living in a Clan isn't for me, I'll return to my Twolegs without a fuss," Fern said. She held her chin up.

Willowsky purred. "Good. It seems you've a good eye at finding willing cats to join us, Eaglefeather. Lionstar was right to pick you for this mission. I'm sure he'll want you to help show Fern around our territory and such."

At that comment, Eaglefeather cringed. Of course Lionstar would want him to get acquainted with Fern. She was a single female. He was a single male. And after what his father had said yesterday, Lionstar and Daisyclaw were getting anxious to have grand-kits.

"Let's go. I'm sure our Clanmates are waiting impatiently to hear how our mission has gone," Willowsky said. "Fern, do you know a tom named Ace?"

"Ace? No, I don't think so. Why?" Fern wondered as she followed them toward the edge of the Twolegplace.

"He's a stray we ran into who has agreed to join RiverClan. He's going to be inviting friends of his to a meeting tomorrow here in Twolegplace," Willowsky explained. "We'll be talking to the cats he brings to see if any of them would be willing to join us, as well."

Fern nodded. "That sounds like a really good idea. Maybe I can come along with you tomorrow and help persuade some of them."

"Let's see how well you last in our Clan until then," Willowsky said. "Then we'll see."

Eaglefeather couldn't help but admire Fern's courage. Here she was, going off into a harsh, unknown world with three cats she barely knew. If they were able to find more cats with an attitude like hers, then RiverClan was well on its way to increasing its population.

Not much else was said as the three RiverClan cats led Fern toward their territory. Eaglefeather watched carefully to see Fern's reaction to the Thunderpath when they reached it. Yet, like with everything else, she showed no hint of fear and crossed the path swiftly and easily with the rest of them. The only time she paused was when the lake came into view.

"Oh, wow! It's so beautiful," Fern gasped, sounding breathless. "You really live here?"

Willowsky paused to look out at the lake. A smile pulled at her lips. "Yes. We really do live here. Do you see that island that juts out into the lake? That's where we hold Gatherings every full moon with the other four Clans."

"Eaglefeather mentioned Gatherings. What are they, exactly?" Fern wondered.

"For the most part, every Clan keeps to itself. We patrol our borders and hunt in our own territories to feed our Clanmates. Occasionally, disagreements happen and Clans fight. Gatherings are special. Every full moon, all five Clans meet together on that island and share news. It is the only time there is a truce between all of the Clans. The five Clans are RiverClan, ThunderClan, WindClan, ShadowClan, and LightClan.

"Our territory is in that direction," Willowsky said, flicking her tail to the left. "Those pines just beyond our territory belong to ShadowClan. Directly across the lake is ThunderClan's forest." She flicked her tail to the right. "Those hills and moors are home to WindClan. And back the way we came, across the Thunderpath, is LightClan's territory."

Fern twisted her ears forward. "You said the Clans fight sometimes. Will I have to fight?"

"If you stay with us, you will be taught all of our ways. Including hunting and battle techniques," Willowsky said. Her eyes were guarded now. "Are you still up to it?"

"Oh, yes! I'd love to know how to hunt! I've tried catching birds that fly into my yard, but they always flew away before I could get close," Fern replied excitedly.

"In RiverClan, we rarely feed on birds. RiverClan cats are more comfortable in water, so our diet contains mostly fish. Will that bother you?" Willowsky still seemed guarded, for some reason.

"I love fish!" Fern gasped. "Oh, how I love fish! But my Twolegs give it to me out of these strange, round things. I bet fresh fish tastes so much better!"

"You'll see," Ashwhisker purred. "Fresh fish is the best food in the world!"

Eaglefeather couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah. You can't beat the taste of fish. No bird or vole or mouse could ever compare."

"Let's go! I want to see your territory!" Fern said.

The cats headed for RiverClan's border. Fern saw a puddle and trotted over to it. Eaglefeather watched her lean over it to look at her reflection in the water. She really did remind him a lot of Fernstripe. Great StarClan, was he ever going to be able to look at Fern and not think about Fernstripe?

Fern looked up at them, her yellow-green eyes sparkling. "Is this where you catch fish?"

Ashwhisker laughed, but Willowsky just shook her head.

"That puddle is too small to hold fish," Willowsky said, a hint of a smile on her lips. "We catch most of our prey in the lake. But there'll be enough time for that. You need to see our camp, where we sleep, and lounge when we have no duties to take care of, and gather to listen to our leader talk. Lionstar will be very happy to meet you."

"Lionstar," Fern whispered. "That name sounds so important."

Willowsky nodded as they continued through the territory. "All leaders are given nine lives by our warrior ancestors in StarClan. When a cat becomes a leader, they are given the name of star. Lionstar used to be Lionstorm, but now that he is our leader he is called Lionstar."

"What is StarClan?" Fern wondered, her eyes wide.

"StarClan is the place all warriors go when they pass on from this life," Eaglefeather said. "They watch over us and sometimes help guide us by giving us prophecies to fulfill. Without their guidance, I'm sure there would be more battles and fewer Gatherings."

"We've made it to the camp," Willowsky said. "Prepare yourself, Fern. There will probably be more cats around than you'll be used to."

Fern nodded without saying a word.

Silently, the four of them entered the camp. Eaglefeather looked around. There were quite a few of his Clanmates loitering around. He saw Scorchfur and Sunpatch sharing tongues by the fresh-kill pile. Hedgeblossom was walking toward the two of them. Near the warriors' den, he spotted Brushgrove and Woodpuddle. The two oldest warriors, Lilyfur and Bubbletail, were lying outside the elders' den with Willowfoot and one of the new elders, Timberpelt.

When the four of them were finally noticed, the easy chattering in the camp went dead silent. A few moments later, Lionstar came out of his den with Daisyclaw. Blossomfur, RiverClan's medicine cat, and her apprentice, Heatherlight, slipped out of the medicine cat's den as Lionstar walked toward Eaglefeather and the others.

Eaglefeather noticed his father's silver eyes were bright. He bowed his head to Fern. "Greetings. I am Lionstar, leader of RiverClan. Welcome to our home. What is your name?"

"I'm Fern. It's a pleasure to meet you," Fern said. Eaglefeather watched her lift her chin to his father.

As Fern tilted her chin, Lionstar's eyes blazed even brighter. "It is a pleasure to meet you, as well, Fern. I'm sure Willowsky, Ashwhisker, and Eaglefeather explained to you our...trouble."

"Yes. Eaglefeather told me that you lost many of your Clanmates because of a sickness. I'm so sorry to hear that," Fern replied, genuine sympathy in her eyes now. "I'd like to try and live here with you and your Clan, if you'll allow me."

Lionstar nodded once. "You will have to agree to follow our ways, whether you disagree with them or not. We'll teach you to hunt and to fight. You will learn how to take care of yourself in the wild. And if you change your mind and decide this is not the life for you, you must return to the Twolegplace you came from and never return. We cannot have cats wanting their soft, kittypet lives back when they need a clear head to help us patrol and hunt to keep our Clanmates safe and well-fed."

"I promise to do all of that," Fern replied. "I won't make a fuss if I decide I want to leave."

"Excellent. First things first. All warriors start out as apprentices. Until you have learned everything we have to teach you, you will have an apprentice name," Lionstar said. He turned and walked over to a boulder. He leaped up and sat down to survey the camp. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the High Boulder for a Clan meeting!"

Considering most of the cats were already in the camp, it didn't take long for everyone to gather around beneath Lionstar. Eaglefeather went to sit with Barkpaw and Swanpool. Willowsky told Fern to sit directly beneath Lionstar, so she did. Lionstar smiled down at her briefly before he began to speak.

"Fern has agreed to turn her back on her kittypet life and instead live with us. Until she has learned everything we have to teach her, she will be known as Fernpaw. Since I believe we will soon have more kittypet apprentices among us, I say that we will all act as Fernpaw's mentors. Once we have a number of kittypet apprentices among us, I will decide true mentors for each," Lionstar said. "Fernpaw, good luck."

With that, Lionstar stepped down from the boulder. There was still an eerie silence throughout the camp as Lionstar walked up to Eaglefeather.

"Eaglefeather, will you show Fernpaw around the camp? If she's up to it, you can show her our borders, as well," Lionstar said, a jolly twinkle in his eyes.

Eaglefeather knew his father was trying to set him up, but at that point Eaglefeather didn't care. He nodded and walked over to Fernpaw, who was being bombarded with questions from Gorsepaw, Hazelfrost's apprentice.

"Gorsepaw, leave Fernpaw alone," Eaglefeather said. The apprentice wrinkled her nose at him before padding off to find her brother and sister. Eaglefeather turned to Fernpaw. "Come on. I'll show you around the camp. Then, if you think you'll be up to it, I can show you our borders."

Fernpaw tilted her head. "Why don't we look at the borders first? I'm so anxious to see how big your territory is compared to my lawn."

He laughed. "Believe me, our territory is much bigger. Do you think you'll be able to keep up?"

"I can certainly try!" she replied.

Eaglefeather nodded. "Okay. But if you start getting tired, let me know so we can head back to camp. I don't want to have to carry you back." He tried to hide his grin.

The she-cat puffed up. "You will not have to carry me back!"

"That's what you say now!" Eaglefeather said, heading for the camp exit.

The two of them headed out of the camp and back into RiverClan's territory. Eaglefeather glanced up at the sky to see dark clouds were rolling in. Rain was coming soon. That would surely put a damper on their mission to find kittypets to join RiverClan.

"A storm is coming, huh?" Fern said, noticing he was looking at the sky.

"Hmm. Yeah. It's going to be difficult to convince any cats to join RiverClan if it's raining out," Eaglefeather murmured.

The two fell silent again as they approached the edge of RiverClan's territory. ShadowClan's territory spread out before them, dark and dreary in the spaces between the thick pine trees.

"Like Willowsky said, this is ShadowClan's territory. The cats of ShadowClan are often grumpy and mean. We try to keep them happy as often as possible, since they're usually the first ones to declare battle against any Clan that messes with them," Eaglefeather explained as Fernpaw examined ShadowClan.

Fernpaw turned to him. "There's a weird smell. Is that from ShadowClan?"

He nodded. "Try and remember that scent. The longer you stay with us, the easier it will be for you to distinguish between Clanmates and cats from the other Clans."

The she-cat inhaled deeply and wrinkled her nose. "I don't think I'll forget that stench."

Eaglefeather laughed. "Come on. I'll show you our border with WindClan. It doesn't exactly border WindClan, but it's close enough," Eaglefeather said.

They walked along the lakeshore as they headed for the opposite border. Fernpaw tripped a few times because she was staring out at the water.

"Do you need some help?" Eaglefeather asked after about her tenth stumble.

"Sorry. I'm just fascinated by the lake. It's so big," Fernpaw said. "And that's ThunderClan directly across? In the woods?"

"Yes. That's ThunderClan. They're noble cats, but real meddlers in other cats' business. I'm not sure they know the meaning of stay out of it," Eaglefeather told her. "We're okay friends with ThunderClan. They have a lot of respectable cats among them."

Fernpaw nodded. "What about WindClan?"

"Well, we don't usually have trouble with them. They're peaceful for the most part. Good allies if we need them, but strong enemies if there's a dispute," Eaglefeather explained.

"Are those RiverClan cats?" Fernpaw wondered, pausing at the top of a rise.

"What?" Eaglefeather looked down where Fernpaw was motioning with her tail. There were three figures down below on the opposite side of the river that ran along RiverClan's border. He squinted. Three black cats? "Those aren't RiverClan cats! They're LightClan cats!" Eaglefeather hissed when he realized who they were.

Fernpaw's fur bristled. "Are they supposed to be fishing here?"

"No!" Eaglefeather's neck fur bristled. "Fernpaw, we have to go back to camp."

"What? And leave them here to steal our prey?" Fernpaw shook her head. "We have the element of surprise! You fought me earlier. I might not be as good as you, but I can hold my own."

He knew she was right. If they left now, it might be too late to stop the prey stealers if he came back with a patrol. "Fine. But yowl if you need to retreat. I'll try and take on two of them. Got it?"

She nodded. "Let's go."

The two of them creeped down the ridge of earth, which hid their approach. At the right moment, Eaglefeather flicked his tail back at Fernpaw. With a mighty caterwaul, the two of them raced from their hiding place. The three LightClan toms looked up from the fish they were counting, their eyes wide in terror.

Eaglefeather fell upon Thornpool, the oldest and most experienced of the three LightClan toms. His claws raked Thornpool's face. The LightClan tom yowled and reared back. Eaglefeather took the chance to turn and pounce on Clawbelly. His claws connected with flesh and fur. Clawbelly turned and raced away back toward LightClan.

Pain shot through Eaglefeather's shoulders as Thornpool jumped on him. He rolled over and slammed Thornpool into the ground. The tom's claws now loosened from his pelt, Eaglefeather spun and slapped a paw across Thornpool's face once again. He heard a scream from his left and turned to see Fernpaw crushing Pebbleclaw beneath her.

"Fernpaw, let up!" Eaglefeather shouted, slamming Thornpool down.

Fernpaw back away from Pebbleclaw, who was looking at her with terror.

"Fernpaw?" Thornpool laughed as he caught scent of Fernpaw. "What are you doing with a kittypet, Eaglefeather?"

Eaglefeather pressed his paws against the other tom's shoulders. "A better question is what were you three doing on our territory?"

Thornpool grinned. "We weren't on your territory. We were on the opposite side of the river! We didn't cross it once. You can check yourself!"

Eaglefeather spat and slapped the tom across the face again.

"Eaglefeather, we should let them go now," Fernpaw said, her entire pelt rippling as she leered at Pebbleclaw. "I think they've learned their lesson."

With a growl, Eaglefeather let Thornpool up. He and Pebbleclaw disappeared, racing after the retreated Clawbelly.

"Look at all this prey they caught, Eaglefeather!" Fernpaw gasped. "Six fish!"

Eaglefeather padded over. "Are you serious? Great StarClan, when did LightClan become such good fishers?"

"You don't suppose they've been staying on this side of the river for awhile, do you?" Ferpaw inhaled deeply. "The scents around here of other cats are so fresh."

He shook his head. "We would have scented them. We come this way all the time."

Fernpaw stared at him. "Yes, but we came back on this side of the river. When was the last time you crossed to the other side of the river?"

"The last Gathering," Eaglefeather said, defensive now.

Fernpaw glanced up at the sky. "Which was when?"

"Nearly a full moon ago," Eaglefeather said. His fur smoothed out as he started thinking about what Fernpaw was suggesting. He began to sniff around. She was right. The scents of LightClan cats were very thick around here. Swiftly, he crossed over the river and sniffed on the other bank. The scents were masked on this side of the river because the wind blew in the opposite direction.

Fernpaw swam over to join him. He blinked, watching her swim across. She was a very graceful swimmer. When she reached him, she shook herself off. "Well?"

"You're right, Fernpaw." Eaglefeather shook his head, dread filling his belly. "LightClan has been stealing prey."

* * *

**End Chapter Three**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Whoo! Long chapter! But fun to write, nonetheless! Hope everyone is enjoying it so far!


	6. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes:** These chapters are getting harder and harder to write! It was particularly difficult to write the end of this chapter. You'll see why.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Warriors, but I do own the characters and plot used for this story. Please don't steal them.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

* * *

Fernstripe was spread out in a patch of sunlight, watching her younger brother and sister play. Talonmist had given birth to her second litter of kits nearly six moons ago. Very soon, Raccoonkit and Breezekit would be given mentors and apprentice names. Fernstripe lifted her head as Raccoonkit, a broad-shouldered brown tom with black stripes, pounced on Breezekit and made her squeal. The black she-kit wiggled out from under her brother and licked at her white chest.

"Raccoonkit, you play too rough!" Breezekit whined.

The brown tom snorted and flicked his tail. He opened his mouth to argue with her, but Fernstripe called out to them.

"Racoonkit, if Breezekit says you're playing too rough, then you need to listen," Fernstripe said. She stretched before standing and padding over to them.

Raccoonkit wrinkled his nose. "But, Fernstripe!"

"No buts about it, little brother," Fernstripe said, flicking his shoulder with her tail. "You don't want me telling Talonmist you were being bad, do you?"

The young tom shook his head. "I'm just so bored! I want to be an apprentice right now! We're almost six moons old! What's taking Duskstar so long?" He glanced toward Duskstar's den.

"You'll be apprentices soon enou..." Fernstripe wasn't able to finish her sentence because there was a commotion at the camp entrance. She turned to see Clawbelly racing into the camp. Moments later, Thornpool and Pebbleclaw came running in after him. Dread filled her stomach. All three toms looked harried. Pebbleclaw's sides were heaving, and he looked like he was panicking.

"Fernstripe, what's going on?" Breezekit asked.

Fernstripe curled her tail. Leave it to Breezekit to notice something was going on. Her younger sister was much more attuned to what was going on around her than Raccoonkit ever was. "I'll find out. You two, stay here. If I catch you away from the nursery, I'll tell Talonmist!"

The kits glanced at each other.

"Okay, Fernstripe," Breezekit said.

Fernstripe padded away from the two kits and approached Thornpool. Her stomach knotted. She knew what they'd been up to. The whole Clan had been taking turns fishing in the river that bordered RiverClan. Thornpool turned when he saw her walking toward them.

"Fernstripe," Thornpool said with a nod. "I have to go report to Duskstar. Excuse me."

She frowned as Thornpool slipped past her and headed to Duskstar's den. With a sigh, she turned to Clawbelly and Pebbleclaw. The two of them looked sheepishly at her.

"What happened?" Fernstripe asked, holding back another sigh.

Pebbleclaw ducked his head.

"We got caught," Clawbelly said, his ears flattening. "Eaglefeather found us. He was with a kittypet, too. He called her Fernpaw."

Fernstripe flicked her ear at the sound of Eaglefeather's name. "How did you know that she was a kittypet? Was she wearing a collar? I mean, if he called her Fernpaw..."

Clawbelly shook his head. "She smelled like a kittypet. Fresh from the Twolegplace, too."

She shook her head. "I don't understand. Why would Eaglefeather be with a kittypet?"

Pebbleclaw lifted his head. "Well, RiverClan lost a lot of their members during the greencough epidemic. Maybe they're trying to invite kittypets into their Clan?"

Clawbelly laughed. "They better not! That's against the warrior code. Isn't it?"

Fernstripe glared at him. "Clawbelly, have you forgotten? The Clans around the lake had aide from kittypets when DarkClan attacked them. And some of those kittypets joined the Clans during and after the war. I don't doubt RiverClan would resort to inviting kittypets into their Clan if the lost enough of their members."

"What?" Talonmist padded over to them. Fernstripe sighed. Her mother was back from her walk. "Fernstripe, what is going on?"

"Talonmist, Clawbelly, and Pebbleclaw got caught fishing in RiverClan's river," Fernstripe said. She started to say something about Eaglefeather and the kittypet, but Talonmist interrupted.

"My kits will go hungry now!" she cried.

"Talonmist, don't talk like that!" Fernstripe said.

Her mother's light brown eyes were filled with sadness. "How can I not, Fernstripe? Our hunters are lucky if they find one piece of prey a day on our territory! There's no way we can survive if we don't take prey from the other Clans!"

"There must be a different solution," Fernstripe said. "We can always hunt in areas right outside our territory. There must be prey..."

"There isn't, Fernstripe! They've already looked! The whole area on this side of the Thunderpath is empty of prey!" Talonmist turned and walked away, heading toward the nursery.

"She's going to scare the kits," Pebbleclaw murmured.

Fernstripe ignored him and went after her mother. "Talonmist!" She ran to catch up to her mother, her swollen belly swaying. "Talonmist, stop!"

Talonmist stopped and sat down. Fernstripe sat down next to the woeful she-cat.

"Talonmist, don't say anything to Raccoonkit and Breezekit," Fernstripe murmured. She saw the kits joyfully chasing after a butterfly fluttering around the nursery entrance. "There's no need to worry them. They'll be apprentices soon enough, and then they'll find out all about the lack of prey."

Breezekit stopped watching the butterfly and turned toward Fernstripe and their mother. Fernstripe could see the young she-cat's worried expression. There was no way Breezekit could know what they were talking about, but she must know that it was something to worry about.

Talonmist sighed heavily. "I know, Fernstripe. But, I'm just so worried. I don't want my kits to starve."

"They won't starve," Fernstripe said sternly. "Whatever prey the hunters find goes to us, our kits, and the elders."

Talonmist's eyes flashed. "Yes, but in the meantime the hunters go without eating. If they don't eat, they lose their strength. And when they lose their strength, who will we have left to feed us?" She paused for a brief moment before saying, "Sometimes I wish we could go back to the way things were before we became LightClan."

Fernstripe gasped and backed away from Talonmist. "How can you say that? DarkClan was horrible! So many innocent cats were killed in such horrible ways because of DarkClan! How can you want to go back to that?"

"That's not what I miss, Fernstripe," Talonmist said, looking away. "I miss being able to take care of myself. I hate sitting around waiting for someone to bring me and my kits food when I should be the one out there looking for it. But the hunters come back with so little food anyway, so what's the use of me going out? It isn't like I'd find something, either."

Fernstripe knew it was no use. She couldn't say anything to make her mother feel better. But she knew someone who might. "I'm going to go speak with Duskstar." Talonmist didn't argue as Fernstripe padded away.

Thornpool had already left her father's den when Fernstripe neared the entrance. She could hear murmuring voices inside.

"Duskstar?" Fernstripe called.

The voices stopped before Duskstar called her in.

The queen entered the den to find Duskstar inside with Fangeye, his new deputy. Snarlpelt, Duskstar's father and previous deputy, had died of greencough during the greencough epidemic several moons ago.

"What is it, Fernstripe?" Duskstar asked. Her father sounded weary.

"I think you need to speak to Talonmist. She's afraid Raccoonkit and Breezekit are going to starve to death," Fernstripe said, her voice soft.

Duskstar's ears flattened. "I believe this is worse than just our kits starving, Fernstripe. I doubt anything I say to Talonmist will make her feel any better."

"But..." Fernstripe was cut off.

"Fernstripe. There's nothing we can do. RiverClan has caught us stealing prey from their river, just as I feared they would. We may not have stepped foot on their territory, but they will be furious that we have been taking their prey without permission. This is not the time to worry about starving kits. RiverClan may declare war on us over this, and that is what we should be focusing on," Duskstar said.

"Did Thornpool tell you about the kittypet?" Fernstripe asked, staring at her paws. A plan had been forming in her head as her father spoke.

"Yes. He told me Eaglefeather attacked them with a kittypet by his side," Duskstar said. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Pebbleclaw said something earlier. I didn't really think about it until now," Fernstripe whispered. She looked up at her father. "What if RiverClan is recruiting kittypets into their ranks? You know their Clan was the hardest hit during the greencough epidemic. They lost a lot of cats."

Duskstar flicked his ears. "You think they're allowing kittypets into their Clan, just to increase their population?"

"Kittypets have joined the lake Clans in the past," Fernstripe said. "Why not now?"

The leader shook his head. "I'm not sure I see what you're getting at, Fernstripe."

She stepped forward. "If you're so worried about RiverClan declaring war on us, you should do something to stop it. Tell RiverClan that if they don't allow us to continue hunting in their river, we'll tell the other Clans about how they are allowing a bunch of kittypets into their Clan."

"But why would the other Clans care? If kittypets have joined in the past..." Fangeye said.

"That's just it. There have only been a few kittypets that have joined in the past. One or two to each Clan. But RiverClan lost how many cats to greencough? Six? Seven? More than that?" Fernstripe looked at her father. "What do you think, Duskstar?"

Duskstar's mismatched eyes, one blue and one green, were filled with doubt. "But we don't know for certain that there's more than just the one kittypet."

"And there's no proof that there isn't more than one!" Fernstripe said. Her gut twisted suddenly as she realized what she was proposing here. Eaglefeather and Swanpool were in RiverClan! They were her friends. And she wanted to extort them and steal their prey?

_But Eaglefeather and Swanpool are in a different Clan! My own Clanmates must come first!_ Fernstripe said, thinking about Raccoonkit and Breezekit. She glanced down at her swollen belly, feeling her kits squirm inside her. _My own kits must come first_.

"Can you think of a better plan, Fangeye?" Duskstar asked, turning to his deputy.

Fangeye's yellow eyes widened. He took a moment to think before shaking his head. "No, Duskstar. I don't see any other option."

Duskstar heaved a sigh. "I will speak to the Clan and see what their opinion is. As far as I know, we are going to go through with this. I can't let my Clan starve, and no other option comes to mind."

Fernstripe closed her eyes. _Oh, Eaglefeather. I hope you never learn that this idea was mine..._

* * *

Ashflower looked at the measly fresh-kill pile. When was the last time someone went out hunting? It was two days after ShadowClan had been discovered stealing prey. She glanced around the camp at all of her Clanmates. Mistmeadow and Silvermoon were sharing tongues near the warriors' den. Gingerheart was lying in front of the nursery, tearing apart a skinny mouse to give pieces to Turtlekit, Dreamkit, and Thistlekit. Summerflower was washing her paws, having just finished feeding Sunkit, Bluekit, and Pepperkit. There was movement in the entrance of the elders' den, and Mousepaw and Mintpaw wiggled out with large chunks of dirty moss in their mouths.

"Are you okay, Ashflower?" Ravenheart asked, padding over.

She jumped and turned to her friend. "Sorry, Ravenheart. I was just wondering who was out on a hunting patrol."

The black she-cat glanced toward the entrance. "I think Whiskerheart and Forestclaw went out with Bearpaw and Riverpaw to do some hunting. I know Rowanstar went out with Thunderstripe and Pureheart to patrol our border with ShadowClan."

The mention of ShadowClan made Ashflower's pelt ripple with anger. "Stupid ShadowClan! Why couldn't they have stayed on their side of the border? It's hard enough finding prey right now without having to worry about protecting our border with them!"

Ravenheart touched Ashflower's shoulder with her tail. "Maggotstripe had a dream, Ashflower. StarClan told her that too much blood is being spilled, causing rifts in the borders..."

"I could have told you that!" Ashflower snapped.

The medicine cat glared at Ashflower, who quickly shut her mouth.

"I'm beginning to worry, Ashflower," Ravenheart said. "With so much tension between the Clans, the smallest thing could set everyone off."

Ashflower looked up at the sky. "Did StarClan say anything else to Maggotstripe?"

Ravenheart was quiet for a moment before she responded. "There's nothing they can do. Maggotstipe said StarClan is powerless. We're going to have to wait out the season and hope...hope we don't lose too many to starvation."

With a gasp, Ashflower looked at Ravenheart. "What?" She shook her head. "No. There must be something we can do. If ShadowClan is resorting to looking for food on our territory, there must be prey outside our territories. Beyond borders that don't touch with other Clans." She turned to look toward the border near the back of the territory, the only one not touched by lake water or other Clan territories. "We could hunt in that direction! And the other Clans can extend outwards, too!"

"I'm not sure it's that simple," Ravenheart murmured. "What if there isn't any more prey out there than here in our own territories? What if ShadowClan has already tried that and didn't succeed in bringing back much more than what they were already finding?"

The conversation was cut short as Ghostwind walked by. He looked disturbed, his whiskers twitching and his face contorted in thought. Ashflower quickly opened her mind to her brother's, without thinking about how much Ghostwind hated her intrusion on his thoughts.

_...LightClan thinking? They can't do that to RiverClan! Should I tell Rowanstar? It can't matter to us, if it's happening on the other side of the lake!_

"Ghostwind, what's going on?" Ashflower bounded toward him.

He jumped and turned to her. A knowing look crossed his face. "Ashflower, when will you stop intruding on my thoughts? They're supposed to be private!"

"It doesn't matter now. What are you debating with yourself about? What should you tell Rowanstar?" Ashflower whisked her tail across the brittle grass.

The ginger tom glared at her. "Like it's really any of your business?"

"Ghostwind!" Ashflower growled. "Just tell me! Maybe I can help!"

The tom shook his head. "Fine. You want to know what's worrying me?" he whispered. "LightClan has been stealing prey from RiverClan, and they got caught! And now Duskstar is planning on using the fact that RiverClan has been inviting kittypets into their Clan to LightClan's advantage! Duskstar is going to tell Lionstar that if he doesn't let them hunt in RiverClan's river, LightClan will tell the other Clans about what RiverClan has been up to."

"How in StarClan's name do you know this?" Ashflower demanded.

He shifted uncomfortably. "I accidentally saw a conversation between Duskstar and Fangeye."

Ashflower knew "saw" meant her brother had peered into the past, present, or future and glimpsed the conversation between Duskstar and his deputy. It was a conversation that had probably taken place in the privacy of Duskstar's den. "Ghostwind, are you mouse-brained?"

"I didn't mean to!" Ghostwind snapped. "I still don't have complete control over what I do, unlike _someone_." He glared at her.

"Don't go blaming me for learning how to use my power," Ashflower grumbled. "When did the conversation between Duskstar and Fangeye happen?"

"I think it was in the past," Ghostwind sighed. "It had that weird feeling to it, the hazy feeling. You know how I usually feel more urgency when I'm seeing the present."

"And you feel a certain mystery when you see the future. Yeah, yeah. I know all that," Ashflower said. She wrapped her tail around herself. "But what are we supposed to do with this information? It doesn't have anything to do with us."

"And now you see why I was debating with myself," Ghostwind said, rolling his eyes. He sighed. "I'm sorry, Ashflower. I think being so hungry is making me irritable."

His sister sighed. "Ghostwind, being so hungry is making _everyone_ irritable." She twitched her ears. "You don't suppose...this horrible season might be what triggers the war you were warned about?"

Ghostwind looked at her with fear in his eyes. "That's what I'm afraid of, Ashflower. And if it is, then I can't see anyway to stop it..."

* * *

Tigerflame paused at the border to scent mark a rock that jutted out of the ground. He glanced behind him to make sure Burntpelt and Briarfoot were still following him. Though Burntpelt was the oldest of the three of them, he hadn't been chosen to lead this border patrol. Furyclaw had picked Tigerflame. Of course. And now Burntpelt, despite being Tigerflame's kin, was holding a grudge and glaring every time he thought Tigerflame wasn't looking.

"Will you cut it out, Burntpelt?" Briarfoot grumbled. "You've been glaring thorns at Tigerflame since we left camp!"

Burntpelt grunted. "Furyclaw is an idiot. I'm older and more capable of leading a border partrol, yet he gives his son special treatment and lets him take over."

"Shut up, Burntpelt. I'm not getting any special treatment," Tigerflame snapped, moving on to the next border marker.

"He's right, Burntpelt. Tigerflame is worked just as hard as the rest of us," Briarfoot said. "Sometimes he works even harder than anybody else!"

Burntpelt's silver eyes flashed. "Maybe because his head is so filled with pride over his father being made deputy! He thinks if he works hard now, he'll be made deputy when his father becomes leader! He just wants to be leader someday!"

Tigerflame spun around. "I said, shut up! I am sick and tired of everyone assuming I'm some arrogant mouse-brain just because my father was made deputy! I don't want to be deputy, and I certainly don't want to be ShadowClan's leader! So _back off_!"

Burntpelt's lips pulled up in a grin. "Make me. Or are you afraid you'll get into trouble with your over-achieving daddy?"

Tigerflame couldn't take it anymore. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that Burntpelt was just vying for a fight. But it was too late; he'd taken the bait.

He leaped at the other tom, sending both of them rolling across the heavy layer of pine needles that littered the forest floor. Hissing and spitting, the two toms tumbled together over roots and rocks. Tigerflame slammed Burntpelt's head into a large branch that had fallen from a tree. The older tom shrieked before battering Tigerflame's head with unsheathed claws. Tigerflame fled backwards, baiting Burntpelt back out into the open. But Burntpelt wasn't having any of that. He charged at Tigerflame, dug his claws into his shoulders, and threw him to the ground.

Tigerflame waited for Burntpelt to jump at him before kicking upwards with his back legs. Burntpelt flew backwards. Tigerflame flipped back to his paws and chased after his uncle, who had gotten back to his paws moments after hitting the ground. The two toms spat angrily at each other, neither one of them hearing Briarfoot as she screamed at them to stop...that they were getting too close to the border...

Burntpelt chuckled. "I'm surprised. Your mentor taught you well, Tigerflame. I never really did like Pineroot. Interesting, how some kittypets are cut out to be warriors and some...aren't."

Spitting, Tigerflame leaped at his uncle. The two clawed at each other's faces, unaware as their tussle sent them flying over the border into ThunderClan. Tigerflame was intent on swiping the nasty smirk from Burntpelt's face. He had a chance to get in a really good blow when suddenly...

"Stop! What is the meaning of this?"

Tigerflame froze. Burntpelt's entire pelt stood on end as Rowanstar, ThunderClan's leader, came bounding toward them with his deputy and an older warrior right behind him. With a yowl of terror, Burntpelt turned and disappeared back into ShadowClan's territory.

"Coward!" Tigerflame screamed after him. He saw Briarfoot at the edge of the border, her dark amber eyes wide as she watched Rowanstar approach.

"Tigerflame! Explain yourself!" Rowanstar shouted.

He turned to look at the leader. "It was an accident. We were...we were battle training."

Rowanstar's ears flattened against his head. "Battle training? I've never seen two cats fight so intensely while _training_. You may have crossed our border by accident, but this is twice in three days that your scent has crossed our border. Get off our territory! And if my warriors see or scent even a single hair from any of you ShadowClan cats on our territory again, I will bring the matter before Crimsonstar! And she won't like what I'll have to say!"

Tigerflame stared. "Are you...are you threatening us?"

"Take it as you will, Tigerflame. Now go, before Thunderstripe and Pureheart get impatient," Rowanstar growled.

Tigerflame turned and ran. His heart thundered in his chest. He didn't even pay attention as Briarfoot called after him. This was all Burntpelt's fault! Tigerflame desperately wished he could talk to someone. He knew who he really wanted to talk...Moonmist. He was supposed to see her tonight, but could he really chance it now?

_I'm such a mouse-brain! Why did I let Burntpelt bait me like that?_ He shook his head and continued to run, ignoring the pain in his side. His lungs burned from the cold air. A breeze blew pine needles in his face. He finally slowed down and realized he was close to the camp. Why had he run back to camp? _I should probably tell Crimsonstar what Rowanstar said..._

But he didn't want to talk to Crimsonstar! The tom squeezed his eyes shut and curled around himself. Fast pawsteps made him look up. Briarfoot slowed when she spotted him.

"Tigerflame! What are you doing? We need to go tell Crimsonstar what happened!" Briarfoot said.

Tigerflame shook his head. "She's your aunt. You go tell her."

The she-cat looked at him pityingly. "Tigerflame..."

"What?" he snapped.

"You should...maybe talk to Snowfire," Briarfoot mumbled.

He stared at her. "Why?"

The she-cat fidgeted from paw to paw. "Just because...well...you seem like you need someone to talk to. Everybody needs somebody."

He looked away. "Go talk to Crimsonstar, Briarfoot. And if she asks where Burntpelt is, tell her what he did. And if she asks where I am, just say...I went back to finish patroling with...with...Snowfire."

"Okay, Tigerflame. I'll send Snowfire out to find you," Briarfoot said softly.

The tom didn't allow himself to watch her walk away. Instead, he looked up through the branches of the pines at the darkening sky.

_Great StarClan. I know what Moonmist and I did was wrong. But haven't you punished me enough? You chose us for that journey. You must have seen what would happen between us. Why bring us together if you were just going to bring both of us heartache?_

"Tigerflame?"

He yelped and spun around. Snowfire was walking toward him. Her eyes widened and then softened as she smirked at him.

"A little jumpy today, are we?" Snowfire asked.

He flicked his tail irritably. "I didn't tell Briarfoot to fetch you just so you could tease me about what happened."

The she-cat shook her head. "Tigerflame, that's not why I'm here. I wanted to make sure you were okay. Burntpelt came running into the camp like his tail was on fire, but he refused to say anything. Briarfoot's talking with Crimsonstar right now, but she told me you wanted me to finish the patrol with you."

"Which is probably not a good idea," Tigerflame mumbled. "Rowanstar chewed me out because he caught me and Burntpelt on ThunderClan's side of the border."

Snowfire sat down. "You weren't stealing prey, were you?"

"No! Burntpelt and I...we...got into a fight," Tigerflame growled. His skin felt hot under his fur as Snowfire looked at him with curiosity in her eyes.

"What were you fighting about?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter now. All that matters is that Rowanstar caught us, and he's threatening to talk to Crimsonstar if he or his warriors catch us across the border again."

The ShadowClan she-cat's eyes squinted. "Did he say what he was going talk to Crimsonstar about?"

"All he said was that it wouldn't be anything she'd want to hear," Tigerflame sighed, suddenly weary.

"You look so tired, Tigerflame. Why don't you come back to camp and head to your nest early? I'll tell Crimsonstar you were stumbling on your paws on the way back to the border..."

Tigerflame sighed and shook his head. "No. If she asks, we'll just say we thought better about finishing the patrol. We've already ruffled ThunderClan's fur enough today."

Snowfire flicked her ears. "Okay, Tigerflame." She started to turn but paused and looked back at him. "Tigerflame, you know...if you need anyone to talk to, I'm here for you."

He looked back at her. _Dear StarClan...why couldn't I have developed these feelings for Snowfire before meeting Moonmist?_ With a slight shake of his head, Tigerflame said, "Thanks for the offer, Snowfire, but I don't have anything to talk about. Come on. I'm sure Crimsonstar is waiting impatiently for us to get back."

The she-cat glared suspiciously at him but she said nothing as she followed him back into the camp. Crimsonstar was sitting outside her nest, waiting for them. Tigerflame saw the tip of her tail twitching. The leader's ears were flattened against her head. Her dark blue eyes bore into the two of them as they approached. Tigerflame noticed Furyclaw and Shadowheart sitting on either side of her.

"That was fast. Did you finish the patrol?" Crimsonstar asked.

Tigerflame shook his head. "I thought better of it, Crimsonstar. Rowanstar was already angry enough. I didn't want to..."

"He had every right to be angry!" Crimsonstar interrupted. "What you and Burntpelt did today was one of the most foolish things I've seen in many moons. With the worst part of leafbare upon us, the smallest step out of line will threaten an all-out war between the Clans!"

"But, earlier...we were stealing prey..." Tigerflame stuttered.

Furyclaw sneered. "They weren't supposed to get caught, Tigerflame! Stealing prey and not getting caught is something that has happened between the Clans for generations. Roguestripe and the others have already been punished for their mistake of being caught."

"Punished?" Tigerflame's eyes widened.

Furyclaw glared. "You haven't noticed? Roguestripe, Driftsoot, Needleheart, Cinderbranch, and Foxstripe haven't left the camp since they got caught stealing prey. Their punishment ends in a few days. On the day of the full moon, actually."

Tigerflame flattened his ears. Warriors were never banned from leaving the camp! Especially not in the middle of leafbare, when prey was scarce and they needed every able set of paws just to feed the Clan! What was Crimsonstar thinking?

"A fair punishment, don't you think, Tigerflame?" Crimsonstar said, her blue eyes flashing. "It was Furyclaw who came up with the idea. And he has a punishment fit for you and Burntpelt, as well. Your actions today have put ThunderClan on alert. There is no way we can cross their borders to steal prey without them noticing."

Tigerflame's blood felt ice cold as he looked at Crimsonstar. A punishment fit for him and Burntpelt? What did that mean? He heard pawsteps behind him and turned to see Duskcloud, Pineroot, and Volemask escorting Burntpelt closer. Tigerflame turned back to face his father. Furyclaw's face was contorted into a grimace, almost as if he were grinning in pain.

"For their wrongdoings, Burntpelt and Tigerflame must be publicly punished," Crimsonstar said, her voice echoing in the camp. "After a short discussion with Furyclaw, it has been decided that Burntpelt and Tigerflame will be physically punished."

Tigerflame backed away from Crimsonstar. _Physically punished_?

"What?" Snowfire yelped. "You're going to _hurt_ them?"

"Step aside, Snowfire," Crimsonstar said. "Furyclaw and I have decided that ShadowClan has been too weak recently. There is not enough prey being caught. Our queens, kits, and elders are starving because of our hunters' incompetence. It is time to show everyone what happens to those who are incompetent. Starting with Burntpelt and Tigerflame. Furyclaw, you may begin."

Burntpelt yelped as Duskcloud shoved him toward Tigerflame. Tigerflame leaped out of the way before Burntpelt could bump into him. Before he knew what was happening, Tigerflame was being bombarded by his Clanmates. Snailpool was in his face, clawing at his ears. He batted her away from him and turned, only to be tackled to the dirt by Bowfur and Driftsoot. The two brothers dug their claws into his back and shoulders and flipped him onto his back. Tigerflame kicked with his back legs, sending Bowfur flying. Driftsoot sneered as Tigerflame twisted and ran. He spotted Burntpelt being pressed into the ground by Furyclaw and Cinderbranch.

"Tigerflame! Look out!" he heard Snowfire scream.

His legs went out from under him as Volemask leaped in front of him. Tigerflame tumbled over Snowfire's brother. Volemask's silver eyes flashed dangerously as he slashed at Tigerflame. Pain scorched through Tigerflame's face as Volemask's claws connected with his flash.

"Volemask, no!" Snowfire screamed.

Tigerflame felt blood dripping down the side of his face. He lifted a paw and rubbed at his cheek. The pain was so immense, he couldn't even open his eyes. Tigerflame screamed and blindly lashed out in front of him. His paw connected with fur, but the other cat darted out of the way before he could harm them. He felt teeth in his neck. Tigerflame slumped to the ground. Just as the cat's teeth loosened from his neck, he reared up and slammed them away from him.

"Enough!" Crimsonstar screamed.

It was suddenly quiet in the camp. Tigerflame panted. His heart was thundering in his chest, but he could still hear Crimsonstar padding toward him. Somewhere close by, he could hear Burntpelt panting and wincing in pain.

"Burntpelt. Tigerflame. See to it that neither of you cross any of our borders for the next whole moon. If you are caught, you will be banned from leaving the camp and have guards on you at all times," Crimsonstar said. "Shadowheart, clean these two up. Furyclaw wants them ready for a hunting patrol before the sun goes down."

"Crimsonstar, neither of them should be..." Shadowheart started to say.

"Do you dare go against my orders, Shadowheart? Just because you are the medicine cat doesn't mean you can go against my direct orders!" Crimsonstar shouted.

"I understand, Crimsonstar. I will see to them at once," Shadowheart whispered.

_What is going on here?_ Tigerflame thought to himself as he lay on the floor of ShadowClan's camp, bleeding from wounds his own Clanmates had inflicted. _Crimsonstar and Furyclaw have gone mad with power! Great StarClan, please do something to stop this lunacy!_

But Tigerflame received no answer from StarClan as Shadowheart helped him and Burntpelt into the medicine cat den.

**

* * *

End Chapter Four**


	7. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes:** Don't hate me! This chapter is scary!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Warriors, but I do own the characters and the plot. Please don't steal.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

* * *

Tigerflame winced as Shadowheart pressed cobwebs to his eyes. All he could hear was the heavy panting of Burntpelt in the nest next to his. When he tried to open his eyes, Shadowheart pressed harder and hissed.

"Your eyes need to be washed out," Shadowheart murmured. "I'm going to put my tail around your shoulders. You need to follow me to the pool of water in my den."

Tigerflame grunted. "Why can't I open my eyes yet?"

"It would better if you just kept them closed," Shadowheart replied.

Tigerflame felt the medicine cat's tail on his shoulders. Reluctantly, he followed Shadowheart until the she-cat stopped. He heard the sound of moss being dipped in water.

"This will probably sting at first, but it will help," Shadowheart said.

Tigerflame spread out on his belly and braced himself. The first trickles of water across his eyes felt like a million bee stings, but a few heartbeats later the pain turned to a soothing ache. The water was cool enough to numb the pain. He sighed as Shadowheart continued to squeeze water over his face. The sticky blood began to wash away more and more with every drop.

"There. All the blood is gone," Shadowheart said, sounding content.

More cobwebs were pressed to Tigerflame's face. Shadowheart led him back over to his nest, where she told Tigerflame to keep the cobwebs pressed firmly to his eyes so she could check on Burntpelt.

"How is Burntpelt?" Tigerflame wondered, listening to the faint sounds of Shadowheart moving about.

"There's a deep gash in his shoulder," Shadowheart said, her voice bristling with scarcely concealed anger. "He's lucky Crimsonstar called off the others when she did."

Tigerflame's gut wrenched. "Will...is he going to be okay?"

There was silence.

"Shadowheart?" Tigerflame gulped. All he could hear now was Burntpelt's slow breathing.

The medicine cat sighed, breaking the near silence. "He'll make it, Tigerflame. Barely. I've stopped the bleeding, but he lost a lot of blood. He's in no condition to go out hunting right now."

"Can I open my eyes yet?" Tigerflame asked.

He heard Shadowheart shuffle closer. The she-cat's paws peeled away the cobwebs spread across Tigerflame's face.

"The bleeding has stopped," Shadowheart muttered. "But..."

"But _what_?"

"It's going to scar."

Tigerflame opened his eyes. Pain flooded the nerves in his face, but he ignored it. He leaped from his nest and ran over to the pool of water to peer into its reflective surface.

"Tigerflame!" Shadowheart called softly.

Tigerflame stared at himself in the water. Volemask's claws had gored three, long scratches across his face. They started above his left eye and made a jagged slash down and across his nose to his right cheek. A few of the whiskers on the left side of his face were gone. He was lucky he hadn't been blinded.

Shadowheart padded up behind him. "I'm sorry, Tigerflame. Even if I use every poultice I know of, nothing will stop it from scarring."

He turned to the medicine cat. "What in StarClan's name is going on, Shadowheart? Warriors being kept from leaving the camp? Crimsonstar allowing her warriors to attack one another as _punishment_? Something is not right in ShadowClan! This all seems like something _DarkClan_ would do!"

The medicine cat stared at her paws. "I probably shouldn't say anything to you, Tigerflame, but considering you were part of a prophecy, you are the only one I have to speak to right now. StarClan spoke to me recently. They said that there is too much blood being spilled between the Clans. It is causing rifts in the borders. If something isn't done soon, I fear for the lives of everyone."

Tigerflame slunk back to his nest. "I understand your worry, Shadowheart. But I'm just a regular warrior again. It's not like there's anything I can do."

Shadowheart nodded. "Stay there. Let me get a poultice together for your face."

Tigerflame waited impatiently as Shadowheart moved about the den gathering herbs to chew up into a poultice. Just as Shadowheart finished smearing the stinging poultice to Tigerflame's scratches, Furyclaw's voice rang out.

"Shadowheart!" Furyclaw's angry voice shouted from just outside the den. The deputy ducked into the den, his amber eyes flashing. "What are Tigerflame and Burntpelt doing lying around? They need to go hunting!"

Shadowheart's neck fur bristled. "Furyclaw, you don't understand. Burntpelt has a deep shoulder wound. He can't hunt until it heals! And if Tigerflame's wounds get infected..."

The ginger tom snarled and advanced on Shadowheart. "Do you think I care? Do you think Crimsonstar cares? We need the food! If Burntpelt and Tigerflame aren't out hunting in the next few minutes, I'll see to it that Crimsonstar banishes them!"

Tigerflame lurched out of his nest and stepped between Shadowheart and his father. "Are your ears full of bees, Furyclaw? If you send Burntpelt out to hunt, _it will kill him_!"

"Then so be it," Furyclaw spat.

"Tigerflame, it's fine," Shadowheart said. "Furyclaw, I will see to it that Tigerflame and Burntpelt go out to hunt."

"Good. It's nice to see _someone_ around here knows how to follow orders," Furyclaw said, glaring at Tigerflame before leaving the den.

"You just condemned Burntpelt to his death!" Tigerflame shouted.

The medicine cat's eyes flashed. "No, I haven't. We're taking Burntpelt out of ShadowClan. I doubt ThunderClan will take him in, after Rowanstar found you two...but RiverClan might. Just follow my lead, and I'll get him somewhere he can rest and heal."

Tigerflame's heart pounded. "Shadowheart, don't you realize what will happen if you do that? Burntpelt won't be able to come back to ShadowClan, even if he does heal fully!"

Shadowheart's shoulders slumped as she looked down at Burntpelt. "Tigerflame, at this point, do we really have any other choice? Burntpelt won't have a chance of surviving if he stays in this StarClan-forsaken Clan. We need to get him somewhere safe." She looked up. "Will you help me?"

His throat too dry to respond, Tigerflame simply nodded.

"Then let's wake up Burntpelt and get him out of here," Shadowheart said.

* * *

Eaglefeather looked around the camp in amazement. It was busier today than it had been in moons. Cats were running about. Gorsepaw and Slenderpaw were cleaning dens while others chatted as they shared tongues. A few days ago, he'd gone with Willowsky and Ashwhisker to meet up with Ace, the kittypet they'd met who said he would gather some of his friends so they could talk to them about joining RiverClan. The chat had gone so well, Ace and nine other kittypets and stray cats from the Twolegplace had come to RiverClan to see if they could live like warriors. Now the Clan seemed full of life again as his Clanmates clamored to teach the kittypets and strays the ways of a warrior.

"Eaglefeather!"

He turned as Fernpaw came racing over with Frostpaw and Tawnypaw, two of her friends from Twolegplace who had come back with them a few days ago.

Frostpaw was a long-furred black she-cat with a white chest and belly and a white stripe down her nose. She'd been a stray cat called Helen. Her brother, Noel, had come to RiverClan with her. Noel was now called Spiderpaw. Tawnypaw was a very pretty brown, black, and white she-cat with yellow eyes. She had been a kittypet called Sylvia.

"What is it, Fernpaw?" Eaglefeather asked. He'd been about to go look for Barkpaw to take him out hunting. The fresh-kill pile was awfully small.

"We were just wondering if you could take us out hunting," Fernpaw said. "Streameyes just taught Tawnypaw a new way to catch fish from the lake, and we wanted to see her practice!"

"Why don't you ask your mentors to take you out?" Eaglefeather asked. "I was just about to find Barkpaw so we could go hunting."

"But we wanted to go with _you_," Frostpaw said.

"Frostpaw..." Eaglefeather started to say.

A sudden hush spread through the Clan. Eaglefeather spun to see what was going on. His eyes widened when he saw Duskstar, Fangeye, and a few LightClan warriors entering the camp. He recognized Weedfur, Snapthorn, Mistleaf, and...Reekfur!

Eaglefeather flicked his tail at the she-cats. "Hurry. Get inside the apprentices' den," he hissed at them. "And stay in there until I say you can come out."

The tone of his voice left no room for question. Looking terrified, Fernpaw led her friends into the apprentices' den close by.

Eaglefeather saw Lionstar coming out of his den. Ashwhisker was right behind him. The other RiverClan cats were all looking suspiciously at Duskstar as the LightClan leader approached Lionstar. Eaglefeather could see that none of the kittypets were visible any longer. Like he had told Fernpaw and her friends to hide, his Clanmates had told the other kittypets to hide in the dens nearest them.

"Duskstar, what a surprise," Lionstar said. "I was hoping I'd have a chance to talk to you about what one of my warriors discovered the other day. He found a few of your warriors stealing prey out of our river."

Duskstar sat down in front of Lionstar, his warriors and deputy flanking him in a semi-circle. The tom's mismatched eyes were dull, as if Duskstar lacked interest in this visit.

"My warriors were not on your territory, Lionstar. Your warrior had no right to attack my warriors," Duskstar said. The leader lifted his head. "Besides, I believe your Clan is more in the wrong here than mine. My warriors report that they saw your warrior with a _kittypet_ fresh from the Twolegplace, and your warrior called the kittypet by a _warrior_ name."

"I don't see how that has anything to do with the fact your Clan has been stealing from us," Lionstar snarled.

Duskstar's eyes narrowed. "Oh? So you don't deny your warrior was with a kittypet?" He glanced around, his nostrils flaring. "Your entire camp reeks of kittypet scent. You don't deny you're hiding kittypets here?"

Duskstar flicked a tail at Weedfur, who darted into the warriors' den and dragged Blackpaw, a former kittypet, out by the scruff of her neck.

"You don't deny that you're trying to replace the Clanmates you lost in the greencough epidemic? Did you really think the other Clans wouldn't notice? Allowing one or two strong kittypets into a Clan was beneficial seasons ago, but allowing this number of soft-minded kittypets in? You're going to tarnish your warrior bloodlines." Duskstar shook his head.

"Let Blackpaw go!" Lionstar snapped.

Weedfur let go of Blackpaw. The black and white she-cat crouched, frozen, in front of the warriors' den. Her blue eyes were wide with terror.

"Why are you here, Duskstar?" Lionstar stepped forward.

"If you're so worried about the other Clans finding out about you allowing a large amount of kittypets into your Clan, I won't say anything," Duskstar said. "But I want something in exchange."

Lionstar's ears flattened. "Of course you do."

"If you want me and my warriors to keep our mouths shut about your kittypet friends, all I ask is that you let us fish in your river whenever we want," Duskstar said.

"For how long?" Lionstar whispered.

Duskstar curled his tail. "Until greenleaf. Or until the other Clans find out about your kittypets in some other way. Believe me, I don't think you can keep them hidden forever."

"Lionstar, you can't really be thinking of agreeing to this...?" Ashwhisker muttered.

Eaglefeather and his Clanmates waited on bated breath as Lionstar looked at his paws. The camp was utterly silent as they waited for their leader's decision. Finally, the brown tom looked up at LightClan's leader. The two toms glared at one another.

"Fine, Duskstar. You win this time. My warriors won't bother your warriors if they see them hunting in the river. Unless they find your warriors on _our_ side of the river," Lionstar sneered.

"Deal," Duskstar said, standing and walking away. His warriors followed him silently.

Before the LightClan cats disappeared from the camp, Eaglefeather saw Reekfur glance toward him with a pleading look, as if Reekfur were asking for forgiveness for what his leader had just done. Eaglefeather glared back at him and turned away to slip into the apprentices' den.

Fernpaw, Frostpaw, and Tawnypaw were crouched in the back of the den. Fernpaw looked at Eaglefeather, worry in her yellow-green eyes.

"Are they gone?" Fernpaw whispered.

Eaglefeather nodded. "They're gone, but not for long. Lionstar is allowing LightClan to hunt fish from our river so they won't blab to the other Clans about us bringing you kittypets here."

The three she-cats gasped.

"_Why_?" Fernpaw asked. "There's hardly enough prey in the river for RiverClan to hunt! It can't possibly feed both of the Clans."

Eaglefeather shook his head. "That's not the point. LightClan is having trouble feeding itself just as much as the rest of us. They'll do anything to get more food for themselves, no matter what it costs us in the meantime." He looked at the three of them. "Don't you think Lionstar would do the same? If he sees a weakness in one of our neighboring Clans that he can take advantage of to gain more food for us, don't you think he would choose to take it?"

"It just seems...so unfair," Frostpaw whispered.

"That's how it is out here. It's always like this during leaf-fall and leafbare," Eaglefeather mumbled. "If you don't think you can handle it, I'll take you back to Twolegplace immediately."

"No!" the three she-cats said.

"You don't want to go back?" Eaglefeather twisted his ears forward.

Fernpaw shook her head. "Your..._our_ Clan needs us. We might have to go hungry, but if we can help feed the queens, kits, and elders and help protect the borders it will really mean something. We've only been here a few days, but it already feels like home. Everyone has been so nice. I can't see how I could go back to the dull life of Twolegplace now."

"Exactly!" Frostpaw exclaimed.

"We _can't_ leave!" Tawnypaw added.

Eaglefeather's chest filled with pride. These three she-cats had been here for such a short time, but they already understood what it meant to be a warrior.

"You know, if you keep it up, Lionstar will give you three you true warrior names soon," Eaglefeather said. "Why don't we go find Barkpaw and see if we can find any prey in the lake? I'd love to see Tawnypaw try out that hunting technique Streameyes taught her."

"I think Blossomfur took Barkpaw and Heatherlight out really early to collect herbs," Tawnypaw said. "I'm pretty sure Scorchfur was supposed to tell you that."

"I haven't seen Scorchfur at all today," Eaglefeather told them. "I suppose if Barkpaw is busy hunting for herbs, we can go without him. Let's go."

He led the she-cats back out into the camp. Things were much more subdued now after Duskstar's visit. Eaglefeather noticed many of his Clanmates were looking very grim. There was no more sharing tongues going on. Rather, the camp was filled with dreadful whispers of annoyance and disbelief. Eaglefeather had a feeling many of his Clanmates were not happy with Lionstar's agreement with Duskstar. But how could he blame them, when he himself was not pleased with the decision? His Clan worried too much about what the other Clans thought about them inviting kittypets into their ranks. Wouldn't it be better to admit to all of the Clans what they were doing than to willingly hand over badly-needed prey to LightClan?

With a sigh, Eaglefeather led Fernpaw, Frostpaw, and Tawnypaw toward the exit. They left the camp and headed toward the lakeshore. It wasn't long before their journey was interrupted by the sound of hurried pawsteps. Barkpaw came crashing through the reeds, panic in his young face. The apprentice skidded to a stop when he saw his mentor.

"Barkpaw, what's the matter? Where are Blossomfur and Heatherlight?" Eaglefeather demanded.

The young tom shook his head. "Near the ShadowClan border. Shadowheart was there. He need...needed help. There...there were these strange toms! They attacked us...out of nowhere... And...and...Blossom...Blossomfur is...is...she's dead, Eaglefeather! And...and Tigerflame told me to run...for help..."

"Get back to camp. All of you! Tell Lionstar to send warriors!" Eaglefeather shouted without thinking.

"Eaglefeather, you can't go alone!" Fernpaw said.

"Barkpaw, go!" Eaglefeather shouted when his apprentice hesitated.

Barkpaw scampered away, his puffed tail waving in the air. Eaglefeather pushed Tawnypaw and Frostpaw back in the direction of the camp.

"You three, go back to camp! Now!" Eaglefeather screamed at them. "Don't you dare follow me! You aren't ready for battle!"

"But I fought those LightClan cats with you!" Fernpaw snapped.

"This is different, Fernpaw. Please, just listen to me and go back to camp!" Eaglefeather said.

"Come on, Fernpaw!" Frostpaw said. "Eaglefeather's right! We're only holding him back from going to help!"

Fernpaw hesitated briefly. "Be careful, Eaglefeather." She turned and ran off in the same direction Barkpaw had gone. Frostpaw and Tawnypaw went after her.

After a deep sigh, Eaglefeather turned and raced in the direction of ShadowClan's border. There was a Twolegplace between their territory and ShadowClan's, but there were hardly any Twolegs around because of the cold weather of leafbare. He wondered if the strange toms Barkpaw had mentioned came from the Twolegplace. And could Blossomfur really be _dead_?

He heard the sound of battle cries nearby and turned toward the sound. When he broke through a forest of reeds to see the battle, he was so shocked that he froze. Shadowheart, Tigerflame, and Heatherlight were fighting three black toms, a small brown tabby tom, a very dark blue-gray tom, and a brown tabby she-cat. Nearby, Blossomfur's motionless body lay beside a lump of dark fur that Eaglefeather thought might be another cat.

"Eaglefeather!" Tigerflame shouted when he saw him. "Help!"

Eaglefeather forced himself to focus. He leaped at the two black toms attemping to pin Heatherlight to the ground. The she-cat was too slippery for them. He tackled the smaller black tom the ground before battering his ears with unsheathed claws. His anger swelled as the black tom suddenly dissolved and slithered away as a shadow.

"Magick!" Heatherlight hissed under her breath.

Eaglefeather's blood boiled. Magick? These cats could use magick? It was just like that rogue that had tried following them on their journey!

There was a rumbling sound. Eaglefeather turned to see a wave of water cascading toward them from the direction of the lake. White froth topped the wave as it careened toward them. But Eaglefeather wasn't afraid of the water. Actually, he'd never felt more in control in his entire life. The water followed his eyes and swirled around the cats still attacking Tigerflame and Shadowheart, without touching either of the ShadowClan toms. The strange cats' yowls were drowned out as they were swept away by the strange water.

Tigerflame ran over to Eaglefeather as the wave of water disappeared. "Eaglefeather! Are you doing that? I thought you could only breathe underwater!"

Eaglefeather slumped to his belly, suddenly feeling very worn out. "I...I think I did do that," he said. He looked up at Tigerflame. "Great StarClan! Tigerflame...your face! What happened?"

The ginger tom winced. "It's nothing." He turned and called, "Shadowheart! Is Burntpelt okay?"

The medicine cat looked up from examining Burntpelt's wounds. "The bleeding hasn't started again, if that's what you mean. He..."

"Blossomfur!" Heatherlight wailed.

Eaglefeather glanced over to the she-cat. She was crouched beside Blossomfur's body. He hadn't noticed how large the pool of blood was beneath the medicine cat's body until that moment. Despite having used up all his strength controlling the wave of water, Eaglefeather forced himself to stand and wobble over to Blossomfur.

The state of the medicine cat's body made his blood run cold and his stomach clench. Her head had been cleanly severed from her body, which explained the unnaturally large pool of blood. The sight brought back memories of the journey to save SkyClan, when he and the others had seen this done to a cat who had been trying to help them. Fernstripe had been terrified. She'd told them that only DarkClan cats knew how to use magick to kill in such a fashion.

"Blossomfur," Heatherlight sobbed, standing over her mentor's body. "How...how could they do this? Who could do...who could...do such a thing?"

Eaglefeather draped his tail over her shoulders, unable to think of anything to say. What could he say to comfort her? Blossomfur was in StarClan now, and Heatherlight would have to take over as RiverClan's medicine cat in her place.

"Eaglefeather, you recognize this. Don't you?" Tigeflame whispered.

"Yeah, Tigerflame. I recognize it," he replied.

"Recognize what?" Shadowheart asked, looking at the two of them.

Tigerflame flicked his tail at Blossomfur's body. "You see how cleanly her head was severed? We've seen that before. On the journey to save SkyClan, we were followed by someone. They attacked one of the friends we made along the way. She was killed in the exact same way. Fernstripe told us...she said that only _DarkClan_ cats knows how to use magick to kill like that."

"Those weren't LightClan cats, though," Heatherlight said.

Shadowheart looked at all of them. "I was a made an apprentice toward the end of the war against DarkClan. One thing I remember very clearly is, at the first Gathering after the war, Duskstar announced that some of his Clanmates had decided they couldn't live as warriors, and they left. It's possible, after all this time, they've returned to finish what the first DarkClan could not."

Tigerflame grunted. "Well, we have other things to worry about right now. Shadowheart, we need to get back soon before Furyclaw gets suspicious."

Eaglefeather twisted his ears forward. "What's going on? Shadowheart, why are you and Tigerflame here in the first place?"

"Their business is with me," Heatherlight said, looking up from her mentor's body. "Burntpelt is hurt badly, and Shadowheart doesn't have enough herbs to take care of him. She asked Blossomfur to take him in and heal him. But, Blossomfur..."

"What? I don't think Lionstar will agree to that!" Eaglefeather said.

Shadowheart shook her head. "Blossomfur already agreed to do it. Will your leader go against her last wishes to help a cat in need?"

Tigerflame was looking antsy. "Come _on_, Shadowheart. We need to go."

"I'm sorry to leave my problems with you, Heatherlight. And my condolences to you. Blossomfur was a great medicine cat. RiverClan will certainly notice her passing," Shadowheart said. She bowed her head to Heatherlight before turning away. "Let's go, Tigerflame."

"But..." Eaglefeather tried to go after them, but Heatherlight leaped in front of him.

"No, Eaglefeather," she said.

He looked over at Burntpelt. The tom had globs of reddened spiderwebs on one of his shoulders. How had the tom gotten hurt so badly? And why hadn't Shadowheart just ask for herbs from Blossomfur instead of making Burntpelt RiverClan's problem?

"Lionstar isn't going to like this, Heatherlight," Eaglefeather growled. "Especially considering Blossomfur is _dead_."

Heatherlight went and sat down beside her mentor's body. "Lionstar and Blossomfur were apprentices together. They were good friends, you know."

"I know," Eaglefeather murmured just as a group of warriors came racing toward them.

"Eaglefeather! Heatherlight!" Scorchfur shouted. "Barkpaw said..." The tom skidded to a halt and stared down at Blossomfur's body. "What..."

"Blossomfur!" Woodpuddle screamed, racing to his aunt's side. "Great StarClan! What _happened_ to her?"

Eaglefeather cringed as Woodpuddle looked at him and Heatherlight with wide, blue eyes. The others were crowding around now, screaming in anguish and shock. Hedgeblossom pressed herself against Heatherlight, obviously trying to give some comfort to her sister. How could he and Heatherlight possibly explain to their Clanmates what had happened?

"Quiet!" Lilyfur, the oldest warrior there, shouted.

The screaming subsided as everyone turned to look at the elderly warrior queen. Her white and gray fur was patchy and thin, but her sky blue eyes blazed with life.

"Now is not the time to moarn," Lilyfur said. "We must get Blossomfur back to camp where we can give her a proper vigil." She turned to Eaglefeather and Heatherlight. "You two will need to report to Lionstar. I'm sure he'll be interested to know why there's a dead _ShadowClan_ cat on our territory!"

Heatherlight stepped away from her sister, her pelt fluffing out. "Burntpelt isn't dead! Shadowheart requested Blossomfur take him in and help him because ShadowClan doesn't have enough herbs to care for him!"

There were more gasps, this time of astonishment.

"Lionstar would never agree to it!" Scorchfur snarled.

"Scorchfur! That's my sister you're talking to!" Hedgeblossom snapped.

"Blossomfur already agreed to Shadowheart's request. I'm RiverClan's medicine cat now, Scorchfur, and by StarClan I will not go against Blossomfur's last wishes!" Heatherlight growled.

Eaglefeather shook his head. This was beginning to get out of hand! If something wasn't done, his Clanmates would start fighting amongst themselves!

"That's enough!" Eaglefeather shouted. "It's no good to stand here and bicker about this! We'll bring Blossomfur back to camp, _and_ we'll bring Burntpelt along with us! It's not like he's much of a threat anyway, being unconcious and all!"

"Who died and made you boss?" Scorchfur shouted. "I say..."

"Scorchfur, put a mouse in it," Lilyfur said, glaring at her son. "Heatherlight and Eaglefeather are right. Heatherlight is our medicine cat now. We must listen to her."

Scorchfur snorted. "Fine! But you won't get any help from me!" The tom turned and pushed his way through a clump of reeds before disappearing up a ridge.

Heatherlight looked down at her mentor and then back at Burntpelt. The medicine cat's face twisted into one of grief as she looked at the cats, trying to figure out which to help carry back to camp.

Hedgeblossom put her tail over her sister's shoulders. "It's okay, Heatherlight. I'll help with Burntpelt. You go help get Blossomfur back to camp."

"Oh, Hedgeblossom. Thank you," Heatherlight whispered.

Woodpuddle was already standing beside Blossomfur's body, his eyes silenty weeping watery tears down his cheeks. Lilyfur stood beside Blossomfur's head. The fire had gone from the she-cat's eyes as she looked down at the decapitated head of their beloved medicine cat.

"I'll help with Burntpelt," Eaglefeather said, since nobody else seemed to want to.

"Thank you, Eaglefeather," Hedgeblossom said as he padded over.

The others started to drag Blossomfur's body back toward camp. Eaglefeather wrinkled his nose as the stench of blood swirled through the air. The trail of blood was horrendous, and Blossomfur's body continued to ooze as his Clanmates dragged her as gently as they could.

With a shake of his head, Eaglefeather turned away and sunk his teeth into Burntpelt's scruffy neck. The tom moaned as Hedgeblossom took hold of his flank with her teeth. Eaglefeather flicked the she-cat's shoulder with his tail, and the two of them began to drag the ShadowClan tom back to RiverClan's camp.

_He smells awful_! Eaglefeather thought to himself as he and Hedgeblossom made slow going through the reeds. _But I can't imagine this is worse than what the others are going through right now. There's so much blood...Blossomfur doesn't even smell like a cat anymore!_

It felt like an eternity had passed by the time they reached the camp. The silence that greeted them inside was nearly deafening. That was, until cats began to realize that Blossomfur was dead and Lilyfur was carrying her _decapitated_ head. Then the screams began to echo across the camp. Eaglefeather cringed when Streameyes hissed at him, her eyes locked on Burntpelt's limp body.

He and Hedgeblossom dragged Burntpelt into a nest in the medicine cat's den before slipping back out into the camp to gather with the rest of their Clanmates in the middle of camp, where the others had taken Blossomfur's body. Eaglefeather saw Lionstar walking toward them. The leader's silver eyes were like chips of ice as he approached the crowd. The cats nudged one another to move out of the way, leaving an open path for Lionstar.

Silence fell again as Lionstar examined Blossomfur's body. By this time, the excessive amount of bleeding had stopped. Despite the lack of oozing blood, Blossomfur was still a mess. Blood was drying in patches on her pelt, the fur sticking up every which way. Her tail was so full of kinks from the fight that it no longer lay flat. Blossomfur's head hardly looked like a cat's any longer. Both ears had been shredded. Whiskers had been torn away and patches of fur were gone, showing the bloody skin beneath. The worst part of all was that both eyes had been gauged out.

"What happened? Who _did_ this?" Lionstar demanded.

"We were ambushed, Lionstar," Heatherlight said. "A group of cats came out of nowhere. They attacked us and killed Blossomfur. And Lionstar..." She paused.

The leader looked up from Blossomfur's body. "What is it, Heatherlight?"

"The cats knew how to use magick," Heatherlight murmured.

Gasps and screams flew through the camp at the medicine cat's words.

Lionstar's eyes widened. "LightClan...?"

Heatherlight shook her head. "They were not LightClan cats. I didn't recognize any of them. They smelled like the wild, too. And they were so vicious. I've never...I...can't..." The she-cat hung her head and choked on her words.

Hedgeblossom pressed against her sister again, running her tail over Heatherlight's shoulders. Hazelfrost padded from the crowd to sit on Heatherlight's other side.

Seeing the sisters together, Eaglefeather thought about his own sister, Swanpool. He glanced around and saw her nearby. As Lionstar continued to question Heatherlight about what had happened, he walked over to Swanpool. His sister was sitting with Echopelt, a ginger and brown tom who was slightly younger than them.

Swanpool looked worriedly at Eaglefeather. "You okay?"

He nodded. "I'm fine. But it just feels like...like there are shadows all around us."

"I know how you feel, Eaglefeather. Something is coming," Swanpool murmured. "I think everyone knows it."

Eaglefeather looked over at Blossomfur's decapitated body. "Yeah...but what?"

* * *

**End Chapter Five**

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I really liked Blossomfur. It just pains me that I killed her off. But there are reasons behind every death...


	8. Chapter 6

**Author's Notes:** I know I haven't done as many updates as I should be doing, but I've been incredibly busy recently. Plus, I haven't really felt like writing. The itch to write just hasn't been coming as often as I would like it to. So chapters are going to be slow. That also explains why this chapter is unusually short. Sorry!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Warriors, but I do own the characters and the plot. Please don't steal!

**

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Chapter Six

* * *

**

Cottonclaw looked up at the gray sky through the branches of the tree he and Sparrowpaw were taking cover under. The entire forest was dripping as sheets of ice cold water pelted everything incessantly. It had been raining for the last two days, creating sticky mud puddles across ThunderClan's entire territory. The rivers leading into the lake were already full. The Gathering was tonight, and if this storm kept up there would be no view of the full moon whatsoever. Nearby, Sparrowpaw's brothers, Bearpaw and Mousepaw, and their mentors, Whiskerheart and Springfoot, were hiding themselves under thick holly bushes.

"How are we supposed to do an assessment in this weather?" Whiskerheart shouted above the pattering of the rain. "I can't even hear myself think!"

Sparrowpaw looked at Cottonclaw. "Maybe we should wait until the weather clears, Cottonclaw."

He sighed. He'd been looking forward to watching Sparrowpaw and her brothers pass their assessment with flying colors. But the others were right. There was no possible way they could hunt in this weather, let alone do an assessment.

A gust of wind flew through the trees, buffeting Cottonclaw and Sparrowpaw with leaf bits and flying twigs. Sparrowpaw ducked her head as a long branch whipped past. Cottonclaw shook water from his dripping whiskers. The icy fingers of the wind dug straight through his fur.

"We should get back to camp!" Springfoot yelled.

"Yeah. Go on! We'll follow!" Cottonclaw replied.

The cats headed back toward camp. Cottonclaw kept Sprarrowpaw in front of him at all time, just in case a strong gust of wind send her skidding on her paws. When the apprentice paused and glanced to the left, Cottonclaw noticed.

"What's wrong, Sparrowpaw?" Cottonclaw asked, stopping beside her.

"We need to check on something," she replied.

"Check on what?" Cottonclaw flicked water from his ears. Was the rain coming down even harder now?

"I'm not sure. I'll know more if we go that way," she said.

"Cottonclaw! Sparrowpaw! Are you two coming?" Whiskerheart shouted after them.

"Go on ahead! Sparrowpaw and I are going to check on something!" Cottonclaw shouted back, a sudden gust of wind nearly ripping the words from his mouth.

"Don't be out too long!" Springfoot called.

"Yeah, we don't want to have to send out a rescue patrol to find you!" Whiskerheart joked before leading the others away.

"This way," Sparrowpaw said. Without any hesitation, the young she-cat headed out into the rain.

Cottonclaw followed his apprentice through the forest. The rain continued to fall, soaking into their pelts. He hoped this little excursion didn't get him or Sparrowpaw sick. That was the last thing they needed right now.

"Cottonclaw!" Sparrowpaw suddenly went rigid ahead of him. "No!"

He dashed to her side, only to find her staring at the ground in front of her. The apprentice's light amber eyes were so wide she looked like an owl. Cottonclaw had never seen such terror in a cat's face. Sparrowpaw whimpered and curled in on herself, still staring at the ground. What was going on?

"No. No, no, no!" Sparrowpaw shook her head. "No! Please, no!"

"Sparrowpaw!" Cottonclaw draped his tail over her shoulders. She blanched at his touch and turned away, eyes still riveted on the mud. "What's wrong, Sparrowpaw?"

"Horrible! So much blood! And the bones! The bones!" She screamed in pure fright, and Cottonclaw's blood ran cold.

"What bones?" Cottonclaw whispered in her ear.

Sparrowpaw finally turned toward him, but her amber eyes looked right through him. "I see...Firestar's bones. They're rising up out of the mud. And everything...everything...is covered in blood! So much blood! Everywhere! Screaming! Terror, and anguish, and pain...so much pain!"

"The war," Cottonclaw murmured. "You're seeing the war Ghostwind was warned about."

Sparrowpaw began to sob. "Cottonclaw! It's horrible! How could that ever happen?"

"I don't know, Sparrowpaw. We need to go tell Rowanstar," Cottonclaw said.

The apprentice suddenly sagged, looking completely worn out.

"Come on, Sparrowpaw," Cottonclaw said.

He let her lean on him all the way back to camp.

* * *

Ghostwind paced as he waited for his Clanmates to get ready. The rain had finally stopped not too long ago, but the sky was still covered in such thick, black clouds there was no hint of the full moon above. And after hearing about Sparrowpaw's terrifying premonition earlier, he had a feeling the clouds were a sign.

"Ghostwind," Ashflower said, padding up to him. "If those clouds are a sign, you should be extra careful tonight."

He ignored the fact that his sister had been listening in on his thoughts, again, as he touched his nose to her cheek. "I'll be careful, Ashflower."

Cottonclaw, Meadowbreeze, and Smudgewing walked over from the warriors' den. Ghostwind greeted them as they got closer.

"The camp is so quiet tonight," Smudgewing commented.

"Everyone is scared. This leafbare has been difficult enough without Sparrowpaw's premonition," Ashflower said.

Ghostwind growled. "I really wish Rowanstar hadn't decided to let the whole Clan know about what Sparrowpaw saw. It's only terrified them all."

Smudgewing pressed against him. "Do you _really_ think the war is going to happen now? I mean, can't StarClan do anything at all to stop it?"

"We can't even see the full moon tonight," Ghostwind said softly. "I think that's your answer."

The white she-cat looked up solemnly at the dark expanse of clouds hovering ominously in the sky. "Yes. But I still wish we knew more. Who will we be fighting? Why did Sparrowpaw see Firestar's bones rise up out of the ground?"

"It has to mean something, but we just haven't figured it out yet. Ravenheart and Maggotstripe have been talking all day about what Sparrowpaw's vision could mean," Ashflower said. "So far, all they can mae out is that there will be a lot of blood spilled."

Ghostwind snorted. "A kit could have figured that out."

Cottonclaw fidgeted. "Of course, it could mean something we may not want to admit. All the screaming she heard could be cats moarning for the dead."

The group went silent at the thought. If that was true, that meant many of their Clanmates were going to die in the war that was creeping slowly closer. Ghostwind glanced around the camp at his friends and family. Gingerheart and Summerflower were herding their kits back into the nursery. Riverpaw and Mintpaw were sharing a mouse beside the fresh-kill pile while their mentors, Forestclaw and Skunkpelt, talked. Nearby, Stoneheart and Shimmerclaw were whispering with Sparrowpaw, and Silvermoon and Darkeye were watching for Rowanstar and Thunderstripe with Pebbletail. The entire camp was filled with cats he knew and loved. How could he go into battle with any of them, knowing it would be the last time he saw any of them alive?

Pebbles clattered and the five of them glanced toward the High Ledge to see Rowanstar, Thunderstripe, and Maggotstripe climbing down from Rowanstar's den. Ghostwind saw his mother appear in the entrance of the leader's den. She was watching her mate and friends leaving. His heart wrenched as he imagined his mother's lifeless body bloody and bruised from fighting...He inhaled sharply, refusing to believe that what he'd been imagining had been anything but that - his imagination running wild.

_Calm down. For StarClan's sake, you were just imagining things!_ Ashflower's voice broke into his thoughts.

Ghostwind let his fur flatten out just as Rowanstar reached them. The leader opened his mouth to speak, but a shout interrupted him.

"Rowanstar!"

Heads turned to see Thornfur scrambling toward them from the elder's den.

"What is it, Thornfur?" Rowanstar asked, flicking his ears forward.

"It's Quickpelt!" Thornfur's yellow eyes were wide with worry.

Rowanstar rushed toward the elders' den. Ghostwind stared in shock as Maggotstripe hurried after him. He could hear Ashflower's breathing quicken beside him. Cottonclaw was completely silent as Meadowbreeze touched his shoulder with her tail. The entire camp had frozen. Nobody moved, until Sparrowpaw started to scream.

"Sparrowpaw!" Stoneheart yelped.

Shimmerclaw leaped backwards as Sparrowpaw slumped to the ground. The young she-cat covered her ears with her paws, her claws actually digging into her own fur and skin. Cottonclaw raced to his apprentice's side as she started to rock back and forth.

"Sparrowpaw! What's wrong?" Cottonclaw shouted.

She stopped screaming, but Sparrowpaw continued to rock back and forth. "They did something to her! They did something to Quickpelt!" Sparrowpaw whined. Ghostwind watched her eyes roll back into her head. "Something to her head. Something to her head."

The camp was still utterly quiet. Everyone could hear Sparrowpaw as she continued to repeat, "Something to her head."

Thunderstripe raised his tail. "I know this is all very scary, but we must go. The other Clans will wonder where we are if we don't go soon." He turned to Cottonclaw. "Stay here with your apprentice, Cottonclaw. She needs you here more than we need you at the Gathering."

Cottonclaw nodded.

"Smudgewing, you can come with us in Cottonclaw's place," Thunderstripe said. "Everyone else already going to the Gathering, let's go."

"What about Rowanstar?" Shimmerclaw asked. The she-cat's sapphire blue eyes swam with tears.

Thunderstripe shook his head. "From the sound of it, he doesn't have much time left with his mother. We'll explain that to the other Clans."

"Thunderstripe," Stoneheart said as their Clanmates began to slip out of camp. "I want to stay behind with Sparrowpaw."

Thunderstripe sighed. "Alright." He glanced around. "Skunkpelt! Forestclaw! You're coming with us! And go grab Ravenheart! She'll need to come in Maggotstripe's place."

The tom glanced up from the fresh-kill pile. "Okay, Thunderstripe!"

"Come on, Ghostwind," Smudgewing said, flicking his ear with her tail. "The others are going to leave us behind if we don't get going."

"Be careful," Ashflower called again.

The last thing Ghostwind heard in the camp was Sparrowpaw's whine of, "Something to her head."

The journey to the island was quieter than usual. Nobody was anxious to talk to one another, and Ghostwind had a dreadful feeling that it would be the same at the Gathering. And sure enough, when he and his Clanmates slipped through the bracken and into the clearing where Gatherings were always held, the crowd of cats was small and silent. All of the Clans were huddled with their own Clanmates in different areas of the clearing.

Thunderstripe flicked his tail at his Clanmates, signaling them to sit down. He padded forward through the crowds and hauled himself up to the branch where Rowanstar normally sat.

"Thunderstripe? Where is Rowanstar?" Lionstar asked.

"Rowanstar's mother is sick. She may not have much time left," Thunderstripe replied. "He has remained in camp to sit by Quickpelt's side."

"Is it whitecough?" Crimsonstar demanded with a sneer.

"No. It is not whitecough," Thunderstripe replied. Ghostwind admired the tom's ability to keep his fur flat despite Crimsonstar's nasty glare. "Shall we begin the Gathering?"

"Why don't you start, Thunderstripe?" Graystar sugggested.

Thunderstripe nodded. "There isn't much to report from ThunderClan. We'll be patroling our borders more frequently in light of a few altercations." Ghostwind noticed Thunderstripe didn't even glance at Crimsonstar or any of her ShadowClan mates. "Other than that, our Clan remains strong during this difficult leaf-bare season. We look forward to newleaf and the return of more prey. Until then, we'll protect our prey in any way we can."

"Well said, Thunderstripe," Graystar said with a nod.

"I would like to speak now, if there are no objections?" Lionstar glanced at the other leaders and Thunderstripe.

"By all means," Graystar replied.

Lionstar scanned the crowd of cats below him before he began to speak. "I am not certain whether it has been noticed yet, but Blossomfur is not among us tonight."

"Is there sickness in your Clan again, Lionstar?" Crimsonstar snapped.

Lionstar's silver eyes blazed. "I know how worried you are about another greencough epidemic, Crimsonstar, but I'd appreciate if you didn't interrupt again. Blossomfur is not here, not because she is taking care of our sick, but because she was brutally murdered on the edge of our border with your Clan."

Gasps flew through the camp. Ghostwind turned to look over at the group of RiverClan cats. He saw Woodpuddle and Streameyes seated beside each other, their heads bowed in sadness for their dead aunt. Eaglefeather was difficult to see, his black pelt melting into the shadows. But Ghostwind could see that he was sitting with his sister, Swanpool, and Echopelt. But it wasn't just those few cats in the group who looked sad. All of the RiverClan cats looked devastated.

"Brutally murdered? What do you mean?" Thunderstripe asked after the whispers had died down.

"Blossomfur and Heatherlight were out gathering herbs when they encountered a group of foreign cats on our territory. Those cats attacked my Clanmates. Blossomfur was _beheaded_ in a way that my son, Eaglefeather, says he recognized from his journey six moons ago. Eaglefeather told me that Fernstripe explained how magick was used to kill cats. It was why the beheading was so clean and not jagged, as it would be if done by teeth or claws. Blossomfur was killed by a group of cats who know magick," Lionstar said.

Furious hissing erupted through the clearing. Cats who sat near the LightClan group backed away, pelts bristling and teeth bared.

"Are you accusing my Clan of something, Lionstar? You said the cats who attacked were foreign cats!" Duskstar's voice shook.

"Yes. Heatherlight said they did not smell like your Clanmates," Lionstar said. His voice was cooler than ice. "But that does not mean we should overlook the fact that the cats knew how to use magick to kill in a way we've been told that only LightClan cats know how to do."

Duskstar stood and faced Lionstar in the tree. "Don't you dare accuse us of teaching foreign cats our ways! LightClan is good now and has done nothing wrong! You're old enough to remember the fact that some of our members abandoned us not long after LightClan was created! Or have you completely blocked that from your memory? Those cats who attacked you could well have been my old Clanmates! Or they've formed a new Clan and taught them how to use magick!"

"It sounds to me like you are making excuses! Until we have proof, Duskstar, your Clan will remain under suspicion!" Crimsonstar shouted.

Duskstar's entire pelt stood on end. Ghostwind's blood ran cold as he watched LightClan's leader shriek at Lionstar.

"You will regret this, Lionstar!" Duskstar yowled. He turned to look out at the crowd. "We all know how badly RiverClan was affected by the greencough epidemic! They lost the most cats out of any of us because of the sickness..."

"Put a mouse in it, Duskstar!" Crimsonstar snapped, clawing at the air. "Don't blame RiverClan's tragedy for our suspicions!"

"No, Crimsonstar," Lionstar said. "Duskstar is only trying to retaliate against Riverclan because of my accusations. If Duskstar wants the news out so badly, I will say it."

"What are you talking about, Lionstar?" Thunderstripe's eyes were wide with surprise.

"Duskstar is right. RiverClan lost many of our cats in the epidemic. We need fresh blood in our Clan if we are to continue to survive. So I ordered my Clanmates to search out kittypets in the Twolegplace who would be interested in joining our Clan. We have accepted more than ten kittypets and stray cats into our Clan, and we are teaching them the ways of our Clans."

"What?" Crimsonstar scowled. "That's ridiculous!"

"May I remind everyone that many seasons ago, every Clan accepted one or two kittypets into their Clans?" Lionstar said.

"That's different! One or two is nothing! But more than ten kittypets at once? You're tainting your Clan's blood with the lazy, StarClan-forsaken blood of _kittypets_!" Crimsonstar said.

"We did it because it was necessary! RiverClan would not have lasted more than a few generations if something wasn't done about it! I did what I thought was in the best interest of my Clan," Lionstar said.

"Featherstar would have never made a stupid choice like that," Crimsonstar shouted.

"It's no use fighting about it!" Thunderstripe said. "What's done is done. What happens in RiverClan is not any of our business unless it affects all of our Clans!"

Crimsonstar laughed. "What would you know, Thunderstripe? Your grandmother was a kittypet before she joined ThunderClan."

Ghostwind turned to see Silvermoon and Forestclaw leap onto Darkeye, who had lunged forward at Crimsonstar's words. Was Crimsonstar telling the truth? Ghostwind hadn't heard any stories about Cindermoon, Clawfang's mate, but he'd heard her name mentioned when he was younger.

"That's a low blow, Cindermoon," a voice cut through the crowd.

Confused whispers worked their way through the clearing. Ghostwind turned toward where the voice had come from, but there was nobody there. What was going on? A screech made him look back at the leaders in time to see Graystar and a black shadow falling from the tree. Graystar landed awkwardly on one of the many roots that stuck up out of the ground. Even from his spot, Ghostwind heard the nasty snap of Graystar's spine.

"Graystar!" Rustclaw screamed, but the deputy was frozen in shock.

The black shadow materialized into a black cat. Ghostwind saw the tom's orange eyes blaze as his claws unsheathed and raked across Graystar's neck. Crimson blood seeped from the wound. The moon suddenly broke free of the clouds and silvery moonlight shown down on the clearing, revealing the dozens of black, shadowy cats surrounding the five Clans on the island.

"Crusade!" Duskstar snarled at the black tom that had knocked Graystar from the tree.

The black tom looked up, his orange eyes glistening. "Did you miss us, Switch?"

Ghostwind's blood froze. This was it. The war had begun.

* * *

End of Chapter Six

* * *

Author's Notes: He's baaaack! Dun...dun...dun... I'm really sorry to cut you off here! I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as I can. It's guaranteed to be action-packed! But hey - at least you know (or partially know really) what's going on! Who remembers Crusade?


	9. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes:** This is a good example of why I made this particular story rated M rather than T...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Warriors, but I do own the characters and plot of this story. Please don't steal.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

Thunderstripe screeched and dropped out of the tree, straight at Crusade. Before ThunderClan's deputy reached the black tom, Crusade disappeared into a plume of shadowy smoke with a cackle. Heartbeats later, the old DarkClan tom reappeared in the tree on the branch Thunderstripe had occupied. Below, Thunderstripe landed beside Graystar just as WindClan's leader came back to life. Graystar gasped, his amber eyes wide with terror.

"You cats just don't know how to stay dead!" Crusade sneered.

Rustclaw raced to his leader's side. "Graystar! Are you okay?"

The lake cats watched Graystar push himself to his paws. His neck and chest were soaked with his blood, a splash of crimson in the dark.

"You must be mouse-brained to return to our lake!" Graystar growled, his voice hoarse as he glared up at Crusade. "After we defeated your Clan last time you tried to take our home!"

A menacing laugh echoed from further up the tree. The crowd below watched as a brown tabby tom leaped from the higher branches to sit on the branch just above Crusade's head. The tom's pelt was patched and sticking up oddly all around his neck. Ghostwind had never seen such a crazed look in any cat's eyes before, not even when he had looked into the past and watched his father kill Sly, DarkClan's old leader.

"We aren't here to take your land, Graystar," the brown tabby tom chuckled. "Though, that will be a nice prize after we finish killing you all off."

Thunderstripe gaped. "Tiger?"

Tiger? Ghostwind flicked his ears. Who was Tiger?

The tabby tom grinned. "It's been a while, Thunderstripe. How ever did you recognize me?" His tail flicked nonchalantly. "No matter. You won't live long enough for me to care."

The darky shadowy cats surrounding the lake Clans sent up a caterwaul, and the clearing was suddenly full of chaos. Ghostwind leaped forward, dodging a very dark blue-gray tom. He heard Smudgewing scream and spun to see a badger rearing up over the fighting cats. Darkeye was lying, motionless, beneath the badger as it roared.

A rage filled Ghostwind. Words he barely recognized ripped from his lips. He could feel himself changing, his nose elongating to a canine point and his tail bushing out. With a guttural snarl, Ghostwind flung himself at the badger and sank his teeth into the monster's ear.

The badger roared in pain and Ghostwind swung, his teeth clamped so deeply into flesh that blood seeped through his clenched jaws. Huge paws swiped at him, but he let go and barely dodged out of the way. The badger suddenly shrank down into a gray she-cat. She yowled and leaped onto Ghostwind's shoulders. Pain shot through him as thorn sharp claws dug into his fur.

Ghostwind flipped over, crushing the she-cat beneath him. She wriggled and continued to struggle until he finally stood up. She flipped to her paws and swiped at his face, but just then he began to lose his fox-like features and his muzzle slid back before her claws could land a blow.

"You don't deserve to live!" the she-cat yelled.

"We've done nothing to you!" Ghostwind replied, rearing up on his hind legs and slapping her across the face.

"Ghostwind!"

He turned to see Skunkpelt racing toward him. Something was lumbering after her, but everything had been plunged into darkness again when the clouds recovered the moon. Skunkpelt skidded to a stop beside him. Her left ear was tattered and blood oozed down the side of her head.

"What is it, Skunkpelt?" he demanded, blocking a blow from the badger she-cat and slapping her ears in return.

"It's Thunderstripe!" Skunkpelt said. "He's been hurt bad!"

Ghostwind's heart plummeted. No! They couldn't let anything happen to Thunderstripe!

"Where is he?"

"Ravenheart is tending to him," Skunkpelt said. "He should be fine with her there. But...there's something else..."

"What?" Ghostwind shouted, tackling the badger she-cat to the ground. He grappled with her until her paws were trapped beneath him.

Skunkpelt's voice was full of horror. "They did something! Ghostwind...dead things are rising out of the ground!"

The she-cat beneath him laughed cruelly. "He knew you'd appreciate our new trick!"

He? Did she mean Tiger or Crusade? Ghostwind had a feeling that Tiger was the one behind all of this; Crusade only seemed like the second in command.

"Ghostwind, look!" Skunkpelt screamed.

He looked up to see the thing that had been lumbering its way after Skunkpelt was only tail-lengths away from them now. It was a huge carcass of what looked to be a badger. Bones stuck out of rotting flesh, and flies buzzed around it in a thick cloud.

_Firestar's bones rising out the ground_, Ghostwind thought to himself as the monstrocity rose onto its hind legs. _This is what Sparrowpaw saw! StarClan can't even help us now!_

* * *

Ashflower sat at the edge of the lake, staring across the water at the island. Quickpelt had passed away not long after her Clanmates had left for the Gathering, and she couldn't bare to see Rowanstar's anguish. Her parents had disappeared into their den to comfort each other before she'd left camp, but she knew Rowanstar would be back out now to moarn with the rest of his Clan as they sat vigil over Quickpelt's body. She should be back there, but the pain was too much for her to handle right now.

A twig cracked and she spun around, her entire pelt standing on end, only to realize that it was Whiskerheart trampling clumsily toward her.

"Sorry! Sorry," he said, twitching his ears in embarrassment. "I thought it'd be better if I made a sound so I wouldn't scare you. I guess it didn't work."

She took a deep breath. "It's okay. I was just deep in thought."

The tom padded over and flicked her ear with his tail. "You? More worried about what you're thinking than what somebody else is thinking? That's a first!"

Ashflower rolled her eyes at him. "I still don't see how you can love me despite my ability to hear your every thought whenever I want."

The tom flopped down beside her and wrapped his tail around his paws. "Ah, but you don't see the beauty of that. Sure, you could hear my thoughts whenever you wanted to, but you really only listen to Ghostwind's thoughts on a regular basis. But, see, I think that's because you're siblings and you just like to rile him up."

She sat down beside him and tucked her nose under his chin. "I love you too, Whiskerheart."

He unwrapped his tail from his paws and twined it with hers. "So, what are you doing out here all by your lonesome? Quickpelt is your grandmother. I thought you of all cats would be there to moarn for her."

She shook her head against his neck. "I just can't handle the anguish right now. Ghostwind might think I have complete control over my power, but sometimes when I'm upset...and the cats around me are upset...I can't help it. And with that many frightened, moarning cats around me..."

"Shhh. It's okay. I get it," Whiskerheart said. He licked her forehead. "You and I can moarn together right here. Everyone will understand."

She looked up at him. In the darkness, his black stripes were strikingly bright against his silver fur. "Do you think the others are okay at the Gathering?"

"I'm sure they're fine," Whiskerheart said. He paused. "Can you listen to thoughts from this far away?"

"I've tried, but I can't. Sparrowpaw might be able to find out what's going on over there, though," Ashflower replied.

Whiskerheart flicked his whiskers. "That little she-cat sure has a lot of power for someone so young. And she wasn't even born in a Clan."

"That hasn't stopped you. Or Maggotstripe. Or even my mother," Ashflower pointed out.

"Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It's just a mystery. Why would StarClan give so much power to such a young cat, especially one that wasn't born in a Clan? That's all I'm asking."

Suddenly, a thought burst into Ashflower's mind.

_This is it! The war has begun!_

Her blood ran cold when she realized it was Ghostwind's voice.

"The cats at the Gathering are in trouble!" Ashflower yelped, turning tail and racing back toward the camp.

Her heart burst with love when Whiskerheart raced after her, him not even bothering to ask her how she knew what she claimed.

"Do you think we can get to the island in time?" Whiskerheart puffed as they ran.

"I hope so!" Ashflower said.

The two fell silent. Ashflower's muscles screamed as she ducked and dodged the underbrush. She heard Whiskerheart stumble in a pile of leaves and fall, but when she turned to wait for him he yelled at her to keep going.

Just as the camp came into view ahead, Ashflower caught the sound of fighting echoing in the night. Her heart pounded in her chest when she realized the camp entrance was completely trampled flat. With a deep breath, she scrambled over the remains. Inside, her Clanmates were viciously fighting a number of cats, crows, and a huge badger. Great StarClan, they were under attack!

_I'm sorry, Ghostwind_, she thought as she raced to save Tawnyheart from being crushed beneath a broad-shouldered, gray-brown tabby tom. _We've got our own battle to fight here..._

* * *

Eaglefeather slammed the long-furred black tom to the ground and dug his claws into the tom's chest. Without hesitation, Eaglefeather dug his teeth into the tom's shoulder until he tasted blood. The tom shrieked in pain and kicked Eaglefeather away with his back paws. The RiverClan tom landed heavily on Mellowclaw from ShadowClan. When the she-cat didn't react, he looked down and saw her eyes were open and lifeless.

"Mellowclaw! Mellowclaw!"

Eaglefeather turned just as a young gray tom with a white chest came racing over. The ShadowClan apprentice fell beside his mother, his eyes wide and wet.

Not knowing what to say to comfort the poor young tom, Eaglefeather turned away to join in the fight again. But when he looked around, all of the cats they'd been fighting were turning to mist or shadows or were flapping away as cawing crows.

Tiger and Crusade stood in the leader's tree, their amber and orange eyes the only color in the darkness.

"No matter how hard you try, you won't win this time! The lake Clans are finished! Watch your backs! You'll never know we're coming...until it's too late!" Tiger shouted, the words echoing throughout the clearing.

With a final laugh, Tiger and Crusade disappeared into the shadows.

Shouts began to fly in the clearing as the cats began to take inventory of the injured, or worse, the dead. One name stuck out to Eaglefeather...

"Lionstar!"

He turned to see Ashwhisker and Heatherlight bending over his father's motionless body. It couldn't be. Lionstar couldn't have lost a life! He hadn't even been leader for that long!

"Eaglefeather."

He turned to see Swanpool sitting nearby. Echopelt was lying beside her, his sides heaving. It took him a few minutes to realize that Echopelt's flank had been stripped of fur and was bleeding so heavily a puddle had formed beneath him.

"Heatherlight is..." Eaglefeather said.

"I know," Swanpool said, her voice choking. "I don't know if...Eaglefeather..."

He saw the tears in her yellow eyes and realized why she was so upset. "You like Echopelt?"

Swanpool shook her head at him. "You've always been dense, Eaglefeather." She touched her nose to Echopelt's forehead. The tom looked up at her with panic in his dark amber eyes.

He couldn't watch this. Echopelt wasn't going to die just because Heatherlight was caught up looking after their father, who had plenty of lives left. Without a word, Eaglefeather dashed over to where Heatherlight was pressing cobwebs to Lionstar's face.

"Heatherlight! Echopelt needs you! He's bleeding out," Eaglefeather said.

The she-cat jerked her head up. "No! Not Hedgeblossom's son!" She turned to Ashwhisker. "Keep those cobwebs pressed to his wounds, Ashwhisker!"

Eaglefeather felt so mouse-brained. He'd completely forgotten than Echopelt was related to Heatherlight. Of course she would want to help him! He led the medicine cat over to where Swanpool was curling up against the tom's back.

"Heatherlight," Echopelt managed to gasp.

The medicine cat scanned the area and found a pile of leaves, which she snatched up and pressed to Echopelt's flank. "Eaglefeather! Keep these leaves pressed here! I need to find cobwebs."

He did as Heatherlight asked, keeping the pressure as constant as he possibly could. Swanpool twined her tail with Echopelt's as the tom's panting began to turn to uneven breathing. Were they losing him? Eaglefeather's heart was thundering in his chest, but that was partially due to the adrenaline still pumping through his veins.

Heatherlight finally returned with a pawful of cobwebs, which she began to press to Echopelt's side. Eaglefeather's eyes widened as he watched the cobwebs turn bright red from the blood. It was no use. The bleeding wasn't stopping!

"Here, Heatherlight."

The cats looked up to see Whiteraven, LightClan's medicine cat, holding out a pawful of cobwebs. Heatherlight's eyes softened at the sheepish look on the young tom's face.

"Thank you, Whiteraven, but don't you need that for your own Clanmates?" Heatherlight pressed more leaves to Echopelt's side.

"I've already taken care of them. There were very minor injuries," Whiteraven replied. Eaglefeather couldn't help but notice the wary look in the tom's eyes.

"Oh. Well, thank you! I appreciate the help," Heatherlight said, sounding so much like Blossomfur just then that it hurt Eaglefeather to think about it.

With the second pawful of cobwebs, the bleeding finally started to stop. Swanpool began to lick Echopelt's forehead and ears in relief. Eaglefeather glanced sideways as Whiteraven backed away to leave. But he was curious - why had the medicine cat looked so wary?

"Whiteraven! Can I speak to you?" Eaglefeather padded over to the tom before he could escape.

"Uh...yes. What is it?" Whiteraven looked around, as if he didn't want to be seen chatting with a RiverClan cat.

"Is everything okay? You said all your Clanmates are fine, but you look more frightened than a mouse that knows it's about to be pounced on. The battle is over," Eaglefeather said.

The young tom shook his head. "I probably shouldn't be speaking to you, Eaglefeather, but I honestly don't know who else to turn to. Ever since Snarlpelt died in the greencough epidemic, and he appointed Fangeye as his deputy, Duskstar has been so...I can't really explain it. He's been different for the last few moons."

"What do you mean?"

Whiteraven shook his head. "I just think it's a little weird that cats from the other Clans were badly injured or...or worse...but LightClan has hardly a scratch."

Eaglefeather looked over at the leader's tree. "Whiteraven, you were born after DarkClan became LightClan. But you know about Crusade, don't you?"

"He was one of the cats who refused to join LightClan," Whiteraven murmured.

"Yeah. He and the others who refused to join have obviously gotten themselves together with a bunch of other cats. But they probably miss their family members that are here, in LightClan. They might be hoping that LightClan will return to their old ways and become DarkClan again," Eaglefeather said. "Just, keep an eye out on your Clanmates. And if you really need to tell someone something in secret, go to Ghostwind in his dreams. He'll be able to get the word out."

Whiteraven nodded. "Thank you, Eaglefeather. Shouldn't you be going to see your father? I heard Lionstar lost his first life in this battle. Give him my regards."

"Thank you. I just needed to see that Echopelt was helped. I'll go check on him now," Eaglefeather said softly. He turned away. "Bye, Whiteraven."

"Good-bye, Eaglefeather," Whiteraven whispered before padding away.

* * *

Ashflower watched the cats retreating into the darkness. Her pelt stung where scratches had been left, and her right eye was crusted shut with drying blood. She licked her paw a few times and rubbed, wincing at the pain. She managed to get enough out that she could look around the camp.

Rowanstar and Stormypelt were frantically looking for Riverpaw and Mintpaw. The two apprentices emerged from the apprentices' den, shaking but obviously okay. Nearby, Mistmeadow was scampering over to her son, Stoneheart, who was with Sparrowpaw and her brothers, Bearpaw and Mousepaw, over by what had been the fresh-kill pile before the badger had tossed the prey around. Cloverpelt was sobbing in front of the warriors' den, her daughters, Ebonydawn and Tawnyheart, trying to calm her down. Pureheart and Pebbletail were off on their own, purring and rubbing against each other.

Ashflower's heart fluttered when she realized she couldn't see Cottonclaw or Whiskerheart anywhere in camp. And then a strange noise came from the nursery. Was that one of her Clanmates? Maggotstripe looked up from checking Shadeclaw's injured leg before she raced into the nursery. Maybe Cottonclaw or Whiskerheart were in the nursery. Without really thinking, Ashflower headed inside.

The inside of the nursery was thrashed. Claw marks were gouged into the dirt and the nests were shredded, the bits flung about. In the middle of the nursery, a bloody body was splayed out. It took much too long for Ashflower to realize it was Granitetail. Or what was left of him. The elder's head had been cut clean off and his body cut in two. The different parts of him sat only mouse-lengths from each other, and the pool of blood was very large. She could see bits of the tom's dark gray fur all around the nursery. It was obvious the old tom had put up quite a fight to keep the queens and kits safe.

Sitting beside Granitetail's mutilated body was Springfoot, one of the tom's four daughters. She was the one making the awful sound Ashflower had heard. Further inside the nursery, Gingerheart and Summerflower were hiding the kits. Summerflower's face was frozen with shock as she stared at her father's body. Maggotstripe stood in the pool of blood, her fur flat and her ears against her skull. Ashflower watched the medicine cat reach out with a paw and close Granitetail's still open eyes. The blood on her pads smeared across his eyelids.

She couldn't take it anymore. Ashflower turned and fled to the dirtplace, where her stomach heaved and she threw up. She lay there, moaning in horror and pain, when Whiskerheart found her. Her eyes met his, and she could see he hadn't survived the battle without a scratch. There was a shallow gash across the chest, and he was limping on a bloody paw. What could she possibly say to him? What could he possibly say to her? Nothing could make this any better.

Whiskerheart sat down and then spread out on his stomach beside her. Without saying anything, he pressed his face to hers and purred. She didn't need to read his mind to know he was telling her he loved her and than he was glad she hadn't been hurt badly.

But that wasn't entirely true. Her physical injuries weren't bad, but her mental ones were only beginning. The war had come, and she'd already lost a Clanmate in the first battle. This was only going to continue until the lake Clans either won...or they lost.

* * *

Ghostwind could taste Thunderstripe's blood. It made him sick to his stomach, but he only dug his teeth deeper into the deputy's scruff and continued to pull him home. Ravenheart had been able to save her father, but the tom had lost a lot of blood and couldn't be roused. Not that Ravenheart would have allowed them to do so, anyway.

Around him, his Clanmates were trudging back home nursing their wounds or helping to drag back Thunderstripe and Darkeye, the only two of them who were unconscious. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that the war he'd been warned about so long ago had finally arrived. Would he get a visit from Cottonbrave soon? He could just imagine the StarClan tom saying, "I told you so."

"Careful, Ghostwind!" Ravenheart hissed.

He'd almost dragged Thunderstripe through a bramble patch.

"Sowry," he grumbled through Thunderstripe's fur.

The camp entrance came into view, but something was wrong. He realized what it was just as Silvermoon shouted, "The camp has been attacked!"

"No!" Forestclaw shouted, dropping Thunderstripe and running forward.

Ghostwind grunted, but Smudgewing appeared and grabbed one of the tom's paws. He looked at her with thanks in his eyes, but she just flicked her tail at the camp to say, "Let's get him home."

It was difficult getting Thunderstripe and Darkeye over the trampled camp entrance, but he, Smudgewing, Skunkpelt, and Shimmerclaw were able to do it. But when they finally got inside, all thought of dragging the two injured toms to the medicine cat's den left their minds.

The camp was in ruins. The fresh-kill pile was no longer a pile but a mess of crumpled prey across the whole camp floor. Walls of dens had been crushed. Twigs and leaves were everywhere. Ghostwind saw his Clanmates milling around, shock on their faces. He imagined there had been relief earlier when they'd discovered everyone was okay, but now there was just an air of uncertainty and fright in the camp.

That was when he heard the moaning.

Of course, it wasn't so much a moaning as a pitiful attempt at a sob. Ghostwind looked around and finally discovered the sound was coming from the nursery. Oh, no. Had one of the kits died? Smudgewing and Skunkpelt headed for the nursery, and he followed after them.

"Ghostwind."

His brother's voice made him pause. Cottonclaw limped over. Ghostwind realized one of his back legs was twisted the wrong way.

"Ghostwind, you're going to need to be there for Smudgewing," Cottonclaw said. "Forget about my injuries. I can deal with the pain until Maggotstripe sees to me. Or Ravenheart, now that she's back."

"Wait, what? Why will I need to be there for Smudgewing?" Ghostwind shook his head.

Screams from the nursery made him jump.

"It wasn't one of the kits, Ghostwind," Cottonclaw whispered, his eyes cast downward. "It was Granitetail. They..."

Ghostwind didn't need to hear another word. He rushed into the nursery, fully intent on going to Smudgewing's side. But the blood made him freeze. That's what he saw first - the crimson pool of blood beneath the body. And then the fact that the body was cut into three pieces registered in his brain. And the fur, torn away and scattered everywhere.

He thought seeing Abigail's beheaded body had been bad. But this was worse. So much worse. Granitetail had been his Clanmate. His father's deputy. His mate's father. He'd envisioned the joyous look on Granitetail's face when he and Smudgewing introduced him to their kits, the ones they'd whispered and planned about together late at night on walks alone in the forest...

But Granitetail was gone. This was his body, torn and bloody and all that was left behind of the noble warrior.

This was what it was going to be like. Every death. No matter what Clan the cat was in, no matter how little he knew about them or how much, every death was going to be like this. Because every cat in every Clan had someone who loved them and who would moarn their passing. Death was not something he could stop, as he'd learned at a young age when he had attempted to stop Softcreek from dying at the paws of a fox.

The war was upon them. And this time, they were on their own.

* * *

**End of Chapter Seven**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I love Granitetail. I really, really do. And I feel horrible for killing him off in such a fashion. But really, what other way could Granitetail's life be ended than him protecting his daughter and her unborn kits? It makes me teary-eyed that he went from the unlikeable friend of Icefur (you all remember him, right?) to the lovable deputy and wonderful father to the mate of one of my main characters. You think it was hard for me to kill him off? It definitely was. But it's only going to get much harder...


	10. Chapter 8

**Author's Notes:** I didn't realize it had been nearly a year since I updated on this story. I'm really sorry to all my readers for abandoning this for so long. I don't want to bore you with too many details, but I would like to explain why I stopped writing. It was several reasons, really. For one thing, I stopped being interested in Warriors and reading in general, really. (Shocking, right?) I was, and still am, extremely depressed. In 2010, my great-grandmother passed away due to old age and my grandfather passed away due to lung cancer. In mid-2011, my pet goat was put down due to a ruptured bladder. On the one year anniversary of my grandfather's death, my family's pet lizard died of old age. In late-2011, my grandmother got extremely ill and then passed away at the beginning of December. It has been a rough two years for me, and things haven't gotten much better. My grandmother's house, where my mother grew up and where my family held all of our birthday and holiday parties, has been sold. This coming Easter will be the last time my family sets foot in the house. I am also spending my upcoming Spring Break helping my parents sell my other grandmother's stuff because she's moving into an assisted living place. She has rheumatoid arthritis and will probably not be around much longer, either.

So now that you know why I haven't been writing, I hope you can forgive me for the unintentional hiatus. And you can thank Erin Hunter's book _Crookedstar's Promise_ for my return. I finally read it and remembered why I love Warriors so much. So enjoy this freshly written chapter, feel free to comment all you want, and prod me with messages or comments if I'm not updating fast enough! I forgot how therapeutic writing can be for me, so cross your fingers that I can continue to crank out more chapters and finish this story!

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

* * *

_Ghostwind blinked as rays of morning sunlight hit his eyes._ He lifted his head and looked up at a crystal clear sky. How could everything look so normal after what had happened last night? He looked around the camp at the few cats who were awake. Mistmeadow, Silvermoon, and Cloverpelt were busy fixing the tunnel entrance. Smudgewing was curled up beside him, her nose tucked under her bristled tail. He heard her mumble in her sleep. Nearby, Forestclaw, Springfoot, and Skunkpelt were curled up next to each other. Summerflower had wanted to sit vigil all night with them, but she'd gone to sleep with her kits in Rowanstar's den with Gingerheart and her kits.

A few tail-lengths away from their group lay Rowanstar and Stormypelt, who were curled up beside Quickpelt's lifeless body. He wondered briefly if Rowanstar was really asleep or just feigning. He didn't blame his father if he was pretending. Rowanstar had been through enough, watching his mother die, having his Clan attacked in their own camp by an enemy he thought he'd vanquished, and finding out the Gathering had been attacked, as well.

His body stiff from the cold, Ghostwind staggered to his paws. He stretched to try and get his muscles working again before looking around the camp once more. The elders' den rustled and Thornfur padded out, closely followed by Twigleaf, Rainfur, and Lightdew. Ghostwind couldn't remember ever seeing such a sad look on the elders' faces as they approached Quickpelt's and Granitetail's bodies.

His heart twinging, Ghostwind looked down at Granitetail. The elders had tried to piece his body back together so it didn't look quite so gruesome, and they'd cleaned his pelt of all the dirt and blood. Despite their efforts, Granitetail's body still looked horrible. But one look at his injuries and anyone would know he'd died honorably, trying to save the kits and queens from attack.

Smudgewing murmured again as the elders padded over. Her dark green eyes opened wide and she lifted her head when the elders stopped beside Rowanstar and Stormypelt.

"Rowanstar," Thornfur whispered. "We're sorry to disturb you, but we think it best if we take care of the burial now. The Clan has moarned. It is time to prepare."

Ghostwind's gut wrenched at Thornfur's words. He looked away as Rowanstar pushed himself to his paws. Smudgewing looked up at Ghostwind, her face oddly blank of emotion. Ghostwind guessed she was probably in shock.

He heard Rowanstar reply, "Of course, Thornfur. Thank you."

"Did you want to say one final good-bye before we begin?" Thornfur questioned.

"No, I've said my good-byes," Rowanstar replied. "You're right. It's time for us to prepare ourselves. We have a war upon us. Ghostwind."

He reluctantly turned to face his father.

"Could you please fetch Pureheart from the warriors' den?" Rowanstar looked over toward the tunnel entrance. "Mistmeadow, Silvermoon, Cloverpelt could you please come here?"

Ghostwind touched his nose to Smudgewing's ear quickly before trotting over to the warriors' den. He poked his head inside and sought out Pureheart's sleeping figure. With a paw, he prodded the senior warrior. When Pureheart looked up, Ghostwind whispered, "Rowanstar needs to see you outside."

When they left the warriors' den, Ghostwind saw Smudgewing had gotten to her paws. She was pacing in a wobbly circle, back and forth, beside Granitetail's body. Letting Pureheart go off to meet with Rowanstar, who had walked away to a more private area in the camp, Ghostwind padded over to his mate to run his tail over her back.

Smudgewing flinched. "Good morning."

"Are you okay?" Ghostwind asked. He realized suddenly that she was feeling rather warm. "Are you getting ill, Smudgewing?" he whispered.

She shook her head. "Of course not."

Lightdew and Thornfur came over. Thornfur bent down to carry the largest section of Granitetail's body. A screech rent through the camp, echoing in the quiet morning.

"No! Don't take him!" Smudgewing lunged forward and dug her claws into her father's cold fur. "You can't take him! You can't take him! I won't let you take him!"

"Smudgewing!" Ghostwind gasped as their Clanmates rushed from the dens all around them, obviously thinking the Clan must be under attack again.

Granitetail's body slid from Thornfur's shoulders to the ground, where Smudgewing hovered over it. Ghostwind had never seen her like this before. Her tail lashed through the air. Waves of feverish heat wafted from her body. Her wide eyes were so dilated that her irises were almost entirely black. She began to pant like a dog.

"Maggotstripe! Get Maggotstripe!" Ghostwind wailed.

Both medicine cats came rushing over from their den. Ravenheart had a bundle of herbs clenched in her mouth.

Maggotstripe hissed at those closest to Smudgewing. "Get back! Quickly!"

Ghostwind refused to move away from his mate. "What's wrong with her?"

"Get back!" Maggotstripe snapped.

Furious, Ghostwind padded a few pawsteps away and turned to watch.

Maggotstripe approached Smudgewing cautiously. "Smudgewing, what's the matter? Why won't you let the elders bury Granitetail?"

"Don't take him! I won't let you! He's my father! He's my father! He isn't in StarClan! He's right here! Don't you hear him talking? He's screaming at you not to take him! He doesn't want to be buried!" Smudgewing screamed.

Maggotstripe flicked her tail at Ravenheart. "It's the fever. It's making her delusional. Get out the poppy seeds. We need her to sleep." The medicine cat glanced around. "Shadeclaw, Stormtail, Forestclaw. I need you to hold Smudgewing down so we can feed her the seeds."

The three toms came forward slowly, their eyes wide with terror. Smudgewing thrashed beneath them as they pounced on her and pushed her to the ground. She screamed and cursed at them loudly.

"Don't get any of her secretions on you," Maggotstripe said as she and Ravenheart crept forward. "No spit, blood, anything." The medicine cat tipped a leaf full of poppy seeds into Smudgewing's open mouth and then used her paws to gently shut the she-cat's mouth until she swallowed. "Keep hold of her until she relaxes. The seeds will take affect very quickly."

Ghostwind's heart pounded in his chest and he let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Smudgewing struggled for another minute before she began to relax. Her words slurred as her eyes drooped. Finally, her body went limp, her mouth slack, and her eyes shut. The entire Clan stared as Shadeclaw, Stormtail, and Forestclaw backed away from Smudgewing's motionless body.

A horrible thought struck Ghostwind. "She's still alive, right?" He looked at Maggotstripe, his voice barely above a whisper but still heard throughout the camp.

"Yes. The seeds just put her to sleep," Maggotstripe replied. The medicine cat began to examine Smudgewing. "I've never seen or heard of any illness like this. I don't even think my mentor, Frostflower, encountered anything like this." Her light brown eyes sought out Rowanstar in the crowd. "In fact, I'd say this illness doesn't have a natural cause."

"Are you saying this was done by magick?" Rowanstar asked.

Maggotstripe's ears flicked. "She isn't frothing at the mouth, so I can't think of another cause, except stress and heartbreak over the loss of her father. But that wouldn't explain the high fever." She turned to Ravenheart. "Go and fetch some borage leaves. We'll have to keep Smudgewing sedated while we treat her."

Sedated? Ghostwind shook his head. No! This couldn't be happening! They weren't even a day into the war, and his mate was already incapacitated! And they weren't even sure whether it was due to the DarkClan cats' magick or not! How were they supposed to fight these cats if they could use their magick to make them all delusional with fever?

"Is Thunderstripe still asleep?" Rowanstar asked, looking around for his deputy.

Maggotstripe nodded. "He needs rest. I don't recommend him returning to his duties for at least three days. Even then, I don't want him doing anything too stressful for a while."

Rowanstar nodded. "Silvermoon, will you take over Thunderstripe's duties until he can return to them fully?"

Silvermoon looked shocked. "Of course, Rowanstar."

"Then you, Pureheart, Stormtail, Nimbleclaw, and Shadeclaw will accompany me to LightClan's territory," Rowanstar said. He thrashed his tail. "We're going to go see if they know anything about Smudgewing's illness."

* * *

Ghostwind paced in circles outside the medicine cat's den. He couldn't remember ever feeling so useless. Smudgewing was lying inside the den, fighting something not even their medicine cat knew how to cure. Was it something she could fight on her own? Were there herbs that could heal her? He sent up silent plea after silent plea to StarClan that someone in LightClan would know how to cure whatever Smudgewing had contracted.

"You're making me dizzy," Pebbletail said softly as she padded over. "Ghostwind, you need to calm down. Working yourself into a fit isn't going to help Smudgewing. Everyone is working to strengthen the camp walls and put together the entrance again. I would normally say you should help out to try and get your mind off everything, but I don't think you'd be much help right now."

He growled. "I'm not much help anywhere! I'm useless! StarClan may have given me the power to see through time, but what good does it do? If I look into the future and see Smudgewing die of this illness, I know I won't be able to stop it! Is not knowing if there's anything you can do worse than knowing there's nothing you can do?" He unsheathed his claws and gouged tracks through the dirt. "I can't stand it!"

His aunt brushed his side with her tail. "Why don't you ask Maggotstripe for a few poppy seeds yourself? You look dead tired, Ghostwind. If you'll forgive my figure of speech."

"But I don't want to sleep," he grumbled.

"I think you need to," Pebbletail replied. "Maggotstripe! Can you come out here, please?"

Ravenheart poked her head out of the den. "I'm sorry. Maggotstripe is really busy right now. What do you need?"

"I think Ghostwind needs rest. Do you have a few poppy seeds to give him so he can rest easier?" Pebbletail flicked her whiskers.

Ravenheart twitched her ears. "Well, we don't like to give seeds all the time if cats are having trouble sleeping. Sometimes cats can get too dependent on it. But you do look like you could use a good rest, Ghostwind."

"I don't want to sleep!" Ghostwind shouted.

The black she-cat just smirked at him. "I'm a medicine cat, Ghostwind. If I say you need to sleep, then you need to sleep. I'll fetch you a few poppy seeds, just enough to let you get a few hours of sleep." She paused. "There's no need to worry about Smudgewing right now, Ghostwind. She's running a fever, but the borage seems to be helping it. You can start worrying about her again when you wake up, okay?"

"Fine," he snapped, admitting defeat. Ravenheart was one of the Clan's medicine cats, and it would be unwise to go against her orders.

Ghostwind took the poppy seeds without another word and padded to the empty warriors' den. With a heavy sigh, he curled up into his nest. Smudgewing's scent, drifting from her nest next to his, tickled his nose. He listened to the sounds of his Clanmates outside, calling to one another as they reinforced the camp. Perhaps if he closed his eyes and pretended like everything was okay, and he was just taking a nap after a long, successful hunt, he would be able to drift off to sleep easier. His eyes slid closed and he drifted into the dark abyss of sleep.

The next thing he knew, he was opening his eyes to see ThunderClan's forest spread out before him. All of the trees were completely bare. He'd never seen their territory look so horrendous. There were hardly any leaves covering the forest floor, and the bracken and underbrush was trampled in some places and growing in wild tangles in others. What had happened?

"A friend of yours is trailing in my pawsteps, Ghostwind," a familiar voice said.

Ghostwind spun to see Oakpelt padding toward him. The trees turned green once more and the bracken filled in with leaves as Oakpelt came closer. His brother's old mentor looked young and fit again, and his pelt wasn't torn by badger claws any longer.

"What do you mean?" Ghostwind asked after waiting to see if the StarClan tom would say anything else.

"A friend of yours is trailing in my pawsteps. He needs to stop, or two Clans will be divided when they should stand united," Oakpelt said.

"I don't understand," Ghostwind said, flattening his ears. "Which friend? Why do you say they're following in your pawsteps?"

Oakpelt shook his head. "Tonight, go to the lakeshore when the moon is at its highest. You will find the answer then. Good luck, Ghostwind. StarClan is watching."

His uncle faded away into starlight. With a violent jerk, Ghostwind awoke to hear muttering erupting throughout the camp outside the warriors' den. How long had he been asleep? It couldn't have been that long. The light still looked pretty much the same as it came through the den entrance. He stretched and padded outside, still feeling a little tired.

All of his tiredness disappeared when he realized there were strangers inside the camp. His entire pelt bristled when he realized they were RiverClan cats. Ashwhisker, Brushgrove, and Woodpuddle were sitting in the middle of camp gazing around at Ghostwind's Clanmates. Mistmeadow and Cloverpelt approached them.

"What are you doing here?" Cloverpelt demanded.

"We've come to speak to Rowanstar," Ashwhisker replied.

"He's not in," Cloverpelt said. "What do you need to discuss with him?"

"Is Thunderstripe here, then?" Ashwhisker's face remained passive.

"He's currently being nursed by Maggotstripe," Mistmeadow said. "He was injured in the battle at the Gathering last night."

Ashwhisker flicked his long whiskers. "Then who is acting as deputy currently?"

"Silvermoon. But he isn't here, either," Cloverpelt growled. "What do you need to discuss with Rowanstar?"

Realizing he wasn't going to be talking to any leaders or deputies, Ashwhisker shook his head. "The other Clans have decided to come together for another meeting on the island tonight. It will be just like any regular Gathering, but we will be discussing whether we will work together to fight the DarkClan cats or fight as separate Clans."

"That's mouse-brained!" Cloverpelt growled. "Isn't it obvious that we should fight together? The new DarkClan must have fewer members than four Clans put together!"

"It's not our decision to make," Ashwhisker grumbled. "The leaders will decide. Will you tell Rowanstar when he returns?"

"Of course," Mistmeadow said, before Cloverpelt could make another retort. "Now, please, let me show you the fastest way to our border with ShadowClan."

"We're going through WindClan, actually," Ashwhisker said hurriedly.

Mistmeadow didn't react to this information. "That's fine. Come with me, Skunkpelt. We'll show them to WindClan's territory."

Ghostwind watched them leave the camp. Why weren't the RiverClan cats willing to travel through ShadowClan? It was a much quicker route than going all around the lake through WindClan. Perhaps they hadn't yet spoken to the WindClan cats.

"Ghostwind, you're awake!" Pebbletail said. "That wasn't a very long nap."

He twitched his ears. "Yeah. I woke from a dream and heard everyone muttering. I came out to see what was going on."

"Can you imagine? A Gathering on a night that isn't a full moon!" Ebonydawn said as she walked past with her sister, Tawnyheart.

"I hope we get to go!" Tawnyheart said. "I want to hear what the leaders say."

Ghostwind saw Ashflower and Whiskerheart padding through the camp toward the newly rebuilt tunnel entrance. "Excuse me. I'm going to go see what Ashflower is up to." He dashed after his sister and her mate. "Where are you two going?"

Ashflower actually looked surprised for once to see him. "Oh! We were going to go...er...out and hunt. The fresh-kill pile is...uh...looking a little low."

Whiskerheart chuckled. "For someone who can read minds, you're a terrible liar, Ashflower." He flicked her ear with his tail. "We were going to go for a walk. Just the two of us. You know, for some alone time before things really start heating up around here."

"Oh," Ghostwind said, his heart sinking. He'd been hoping to go hunting with them. "That's fine. I'll just...um..."

Ashflower looked at him pityingly. "If you really want to hunt, why don't you put together a hunting patrol? I'm sure a number of our Clanmates would like something to do with their paws, now that we've all finished rebuilding and reinforcing the camp."

"That's a good idea," Ghostwind said with a nod. "I'll do that. See you later."

"Bye," Ashflower said, giving him one last worried look before leading Whiskerheart out of the camp through the tunnel.

Ghostwind looked around the camp to see who was still around. He'd like to go out hunting with Cottonclaw, but his brother was nowhere to be found. Pebbletail and Palefur were looking at the dismal fresh-kill pile. He spotted Ebonydawn and Tawnyheart finishing up reinforcing a wall toward the back of the camp.

"Hey, Pebbletail! Do you and Palefur want to go on a hunting patrol with me?" Ghostwind asked, padding over to them.

Pebbletail purred. "Hunting is a great idea. I'd love to come!"

"I'll tag along," Palefur said.

"Hunting patrol?" Bearpaw cried, looking up from where he was sunning himself in front of the nursery. He raced over. "Can I come? I want to practice hunting squirrels!"

"Okay," Ghostwind said. He looked one last time around the camp for Cottonclaw but didn't see him. Four in the hunting party would have to be enough. "Let's go."

The group headed out into the forest, heading for the shore. Ghostwind kept his ears perked for the sounds of prey. It was rather quiet for mid-day. Where was all of the prey hiding? Bearpaw gave a shout and raced past Ghostwind to leap into the air and paw at leaves that had fallen from a tree. Ghostwind looked up. He thought he'd seen a shadow move, but maybe it had just been a trick of the light.

"Slow down, Bearpaw, or you're going to scare all the prey away," Palefur called softly.

The apprentice shuffled his paws. "I don't think I'm what scared them away. It's so quiet in the forest. I can't even hear any squirrels chattering. How am I supposed to practice hunting squirrel if they're all hiding?"

Ghostwind opened his mouth to breathe in any scents that may have been left behind by prey. He caught a faint odor of mouse and followed the trail to the roots of a tree, where he immediately lost the scent. Either the mouse had disappeared down a burrow or was long gone from here by now.

"Any luck?" he called to the others as they fanned out.

Palefur shook her head. "It's like all of the prey has disappeared."

"Well, it is leaf-bare," Pebbletail said. "We know prey is always scarce during leaf-bare."

"Not quite this scarce, though," Ghostwind murmured. "Can any of you catch any scents at all? I found a mouse trail, but it disappeared."

The two she-cats were pressing their noses to the ground and opening their mouths wide to let in as much air as possible, but neither of them seemed to have found anything. Ghostwind realized he couldn't see Bearpaw anywhere.

"Where did Bearpaw go? Bearpaw! Where are you?" Ghostwind called.

"Bearpaw!" Palefur and Pebbletail started shouting with him.

A small blur came pelting through the bracken. Bearpaw hurtled past them, his eyes wide in terror. They shouted after him, wondering what in the world could be wrong. Ghostwind heard heavier pawsteps behind them and spun to see a huge, slobbering dog bounding through the forest directly toward them. He screeched at the others to get up into the trees as he took two running leaps toward the nearest tree. His claws caught hold of the rough bark, and he scrambled into the branches as the dog reached him.

Its booming bark made the air quiver around Ghostwind. He watched as it reared up and scrabbled at the bark. Its massive paws shook the tree. Ghostwind dug his claws into the bark, praying to StarClan that he could hold on.

"Hey, you dumb dog! Dumb dog!" Bearpaw shouted.

Ghostwind gasped when he saw that the apprentice was standing on the ground only a few tail-lengths behind the dog. Bearpaw's eyes were wide, and he was panting heavily between every few words.

"You're nothing but...a stupid mouse-brain who...can't even catch his own tail!" Bearpaw shouted. "Look at me! I'm a tiny...little kitty! I can take...you, mouse-brain!"

The dog spun around, yiping in pleasure when he saw Bearpaw. Without thinking, Ghostwind flung himself from his tree and landed squarely on the gigantic dog's face. His claws raked its snout, and the dog yelped in pain and bucked.

Ghostwind heard twigs snap around him as he was flung back up into the tree. He scrambled to catch hold of a branch, but they were all too small and brittle to catch him. The ground came flying toward him, and at the last second Ghostwind righted himself enough to land on his paws. He stumbled and rolled as he landed. His paws stung, but he seemed alright. He opened his eyes in time to see the dog yelping into the distance.

Bearpaw went chasing after it, still shouting, but Palefur tackled him to the ground and sat on him. He continued to struggle beneath her, gouging deep claw marks into the dirt.

"He's burning up!" Palefur called to Ghostwind and Pebbletail. "Hurry! Get Maggotstripe!"

Great StarClan, not another sick cat! Ghostwind turned and pelted for the camp. He ignored the brambles that tugged at his fur as he crashed through the bracken. He forced his way through the tunnel entrance, shouting, "Maggotstripe! Maggotstripe!"

The she-cat met him at the end of the tunnel.

"What? What's the matter?" she demanded to know.

"It's Bearpaw!" Ghostwind panted. "He's sick! Same as Smudgewing."

"Ravenheart, bring me the poppy seeds!" Maggotstripe shouted.

Her apprentice came hurtling out of the medicine den, her jaws clamped around a bundle. Maggotstripe hastily snatched the bundle from Ravenheart and said, "Lead the way!" Without a word, Ghostwind spun around and ran back through the forest to where Palefur and Pebbletail were holding down Bearpaw. He helped the she-cats hold down the apprentice as Maggotstripe force-fed him the seeds.

Ghostwind's heart was pounding in his ears as they waited for the seeds to take affect. It didn't take as long as it had with Smudgewing. Not even a minute had passed before Bearpaw was fast asleep beneath them. As if he'd been burned by the young tom's pelt, Ghostwind leaped backwards. He panted, trying to catch his breath.

How could Bearpaw have gotten ill with the same sickness as Smudgewing? He had hardly been anywhere near Smudgewing! This wasn't a normal sickness. It couldn't be if a cat who'd hardly been near the sick got sick before cats who had. Was Maggotstripe right? Was this an illness created by magick?

"I'll carry him back to camp," Palefur said.

Pebbletail helped her drag Bearpaw onto her back.

Palefur muttered as they all headed back toward camp. "Poor, motherless kit. He didn't deserve to get sick."

_No_, Ghostwind thought to himself. _None of us deserve to get sick. Oh, StarClan, why do the DarkClan cats hate us so much? None of this would have happened if they'd just left us alone!_

* * *

Ghostwind watched his father lead his Clanmates out of the camp. They were heading to the meeting with the other Clans. He hoped tonight's moonlit meeting was more successful than Rowanstar's mission to LightClan earlier that day.

Rowanstar and his patrol had returned from LightClan with unhappy news. Some of the LightClan cats knew that illnesses could be created by magick, but none of them knew the exact cure. One cat had said that they thought there was a certain plant that could cure any sickness created by magick, but they didn't know what it was.

Suddenly angry, Ghostwind unsheathed his claws and dragged them through the dirt. This was unbearable! He wanted to cure his sick Clanmates, but how could he when he didn't know what the cure was? They didn't even know if the illness was fatal. Maggotstripe had said that Smudgewing and Bearpaw couldn't survive long if their fevers spiked too high, but the borage leaves she and Ravenheart were feeding them were keeping their fevers from getting too high. However, the borage leaves would run out eventually. As would the poppy seeds that kept them sedated.

He looked up at the sky, remembering his dream visit from Oakpelt earlier. The moon would be at its highest point in the sky soon. He might as well head for the lakeshore to see what Oakpelt had wanted him to stopped him as he padded toward the tunnel. They probably all thought he was just going out for a walk. He did feel like being alone right now. Rowanstar had requested he go with them to the island meeting, but Ghostwind had refused. He was glad Rowanstar hadn't asked him why he didn't want to go.

Icy leaf-bare wind buffeted him as he left the camp. It felt like ages since he'd since the lake at night. He let his paws guide him toward the shoreline. The moon rose, a nearly full circle, directly above the lake. Its reflection rippled as the wind sent waves shivering across the surface. Stars twinkled brightly in the sky like they always did. Ghostwind took a deep breath of the chilly air, his lungs burning as he inhaled.

Deciding to get closer, Ghostwind padded down the sand and rocks to the edge of the water. The wind was blowing from his right, wafting ShadowClan scents toward him. He curled his lip. The scents were awfully fresh. Perhaps ShadowClan had gone this way when they'd left to go to the meeting? But why would they, when going around through RiverClan would be faster?

Was that splashing water he heard? Ghostwind flattened his ears as a figure appeared out of the darkness, slogging through the water. The ginger tom was grumbling to himself as he sloshed his way along ThunderClan's shoreline.

"Tigerflame!" Ghostwind hissed, finally recognizing the ShadowClan cat. "What in StarClan's name are you doing?"

Tigerflame spat in surprise. His fur flattened as suddenly as it had spiked up. "Oh. Ghostwind. It's just you."

"Just me? You're lucky it's just me!" Ghostwind snapped. "Tigerflame, you're trespessing on ThunderClan territory! Just because we traveled together in the past doesn't mean you get a free pass because I'm the one who found you!"

Tigerflame actually ducked his head, looking sheepish. "Are you going to turn me in?"

Ghostwind glanced toward WindClan, suddenly realizing what must be going on. "You're the father, aren't you? Of Moonmist's kits?"

Tigerflame hung his head even lower. "Yes."

Ghostwind sighed, remembering what Oakpelt had told him. _A friend of yours is trailing in my pawsteps. He needs to stop, or two Clans will be divided when they should stand united. _

"Listen. StarClan doesn't approve of you sneaking around. If you don't stop now, there will be consequences later. Ones that will damage both of your Clans," Ghostwind said.

Tigerflame snarled. "You aren't the boss of me!"

This was the Tigerflame that Ghostwind remembered. Aggressive and sensitive to every word spoken to him. But they were older now. Tigerflame needed to learn how to control himself.

"If you'd calm down long enough for me to explain, we could both head back to our warm nests to sleep," Ghostwind said, even though sleeping was the last thing he wanted to do right now. "StarClan said if you don't stop, then WindClan and ShadowClan will be divided."

Tigerflame snorted. "That makes no sense. The Clans aren't together. We're already divided."

Ghostwind sighed. Perhaps Tigerflame didn't know that the Clans were all meeting on the island tonight to discuss working together against the returning DarkClan cats. "Believe me, it will make sense. Will you please just trust me on this?"

Tigerflame grunted. "Okay, fine. But promise that you won't turn me in."

"I promise I won't turn you in. But if I catch you sneaking across our territory again, I won't hestitate to call you out," Ghostwind growled.

Tigerflame nodded. "Fair enough. Good-bye, Ghostwind."

Ghostwind watched the ShadowClan tom slosh back toward the dark woods. He'd had an inkling that something had been going on between Moonmist and Tigerflame when Graystar had announced at a Gathering that Moonmist was having kits but hadn't mentioned the father.

_StarClan, I hope you're watching over Tigerflame and Moonmist_. Ghostwind thought to himself. _We can't afford to have WindClan and ShadowClan at war against one another right now._

* * *

**End Chapter Eight**


	11. Chapter 9

**Author's Notes:** Please thank Skystorm21 for this! If it wasn't for their PM pleading me to continue writing, this chapter would still be hidden away in a folder on my desktop. I've swept off the dust and, without even reading it really, put it up here for everyone to read. I know it's been around 16 months since Chapter Eight went up. If you read the Author's Notes for Chapter Eight, you will know that I have been dealing with depression because I've lost a lot of wonderful people and animals in my life over the last few years. Well, since Chapter Eight went up I have had to deal with even more. Last November, my boyfriend of nearly four years broke up with me and last January my grandma, my last living grandparent, passed away. Life has thrown one too many lemons at me, and I don't have any equipment to make lemonade right now. As a result, my writing muse has fled the coop. To make matters worse, I can't seem to find them anymore. So enjoy Chapter Nine because it may be the last chapter for this story. I am going to go through and re-read this series from the very beginning, starting with Warriors Descended 1: Descendant of Fire, in the hopes that doing so will ignite a spark inside the coop and bring my writing muse back to me. If it doesn't work then...I'm so very, very sorry but I don't think this story is ever going to be finished.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

* * *

_Tigerflame padded through ShadowClan territory, not really paying attention to where he was going._ His mind was whirling with too many thoughts. Why now, after moons of secret meetings, had he been caught sneaking off to see Moonmist? Was it because the Clans were on high alert after the attack at the Gathering? No. He'd been seen by Ghostwind, and the ThunderClan tom had been alone. He thought back to what Ghostwind had said. _StarClan doesn't approve of you sneaking around._ StarClan didn't want him seeing Moonmist?

The ginger tom spat. Oh, _now_ they had something to say about it! Why hadn't they figured out a way to prevent him and Moonmist from happening in the first place? Then StarClan wouldn't have to worry about it at all! Tigerflame tore at the pine needles with his claws. Forget StarClan! They had obviously turned their backs on his Clan, letting Crimsonstar and Furyclaw treat them all like they were traitors. He wasn't going to let a bunch of dead cats stop him from seeing Moonmist!

He was about to turn back and go to WindClan's territory when another cat stepped out of the shadows suddenly. Tigerflame snarled, his fur bristling, until he realized it was Snowfire. Pain shot through his still sore face as he scrunched his face at her, but he ignored it.

"Whoa! Down, tiger!" Snowfire said. She padded up to him. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"Whatever," Tigerflame growled. Why did it have to be Snowfire who found him? "What are you doing out here?"

She flicked his shoulder with her tail. "I could ask you the same thing."

"Couldn't sleep," he mumbled.

"Too bad. You could use a good night's sleep," Snowfire said. She paused, and Tigerflame noticed her studying the claw marks across his face. They were still open and sore, not yet scars. "I'm sorry Volemask did that to you. He really shouldn't have."

"You aren't the one who needs to apologize," Tigerflame snapped.

She sighed. "Something is wrong, Tigerflame. Crimsonstar has been acting very strange lately. Haven't you noticed?"

"It's kind of hard not to when she had my own Clanmates nearly blind me and nearly murder my kin!" Tigerflame snarled softly.

"Do you think the Clans will unite against Tiger and his cats?" Snowfire asked, out of the blue.

He paused before whispering, "I don't know."

The young she-cat suddenly looked very weary. "There's already been deaths, and we've only had one battle. If the Clans don't unite, I fear we won't survive. These cats want vengeance, and they can use magick. How can we defeat them if we're divided?"

"We can't," a voice said from the darkness.

Tigerflame and Snowfire spun to see Crimsonstar and Furyclaw walking toward them. The leader's fur was bristled, making her look twice as big as usual.

"Crimsonstar! How did the meeting go?" Snowfire asked anxiously.

"We are uniting the lake Clans," Crimsonstar said. "We will defeat these new evil cats the same way we defeated DarkClan."

Furyclaw glared at Tigerflame. "What are you two doing awake at this hour?"

"We couldn't sleep," Tigerflame replied.

Furyclaw stepped closer. "Why are your paws and belly soaked with water, Tigerflame?"

He cringed away from Furyclaw. "I slipped and fell into the river."

His father's eyes narrowed even more. "Your scent was near the ThunderClan border. You were in the lake, weren't you?"

Tigerflame's eyes widened in surprise. Why had they come back through ThunderClan's territory? It was faster to come back through RiverClan from the island! It was how they'd traveled to the island and back for moons!

"Well, Tigerflame?" Crimsonstar pressed.

Snowfire stepped forward. "It was my idea, Crimsonstar! I thought we might be able to catch some fish from the lake."

Furyclaw laughed. "Yet your scent was nowhere near the shore. Afraid to get your paws wet, Snowfire? Or are you just trying to cover for my disappointing son?"

"I told her to look for prey in the woods," Tigerflame said, trying to keep his fur flat. "We don't know how to hunt fish, so I thought it would be pointless if both of us were splashing around in the water."

Furyclaw looked around. "Well then, have you caught anything? I don't see any prey around!"

"N...no, we didn't catch anything," Tigerflame stuttered.

"Ah, so you have no prey to back up your story," Furyclaw laughed again. "What do you think, Crimsonstar? Are they telling the truth?"

The leader's reddish tail lashed over the pine needles littering the forest floor. Her dark green eyes were black in the darkness of the night. "No. I'm not sure I believe them."

Snowfire's eyes widened in shock. Tigerflame saw the moonlight reflecting off of them. His heart began to beat more rapidly. If Crimsonstar didn't believe them, was she going to punish them the same way she had punished him and Burntpelt earlier?

The leader suddenly purred, a reaction Tigerflame was not expecting in the least. "There's no use hiding it, you two. Everyone in ShadowClan knows you two are perfect for each other."

Snowfire laughed, and Tigerflame's shoulders sagged with relief. Their leader thought that he and Snowfire were _together_ - that they were _mates_!

"We're sorry, Crimsonstar. We just didn't want anyone to know," Snowfire said sheepishly.

Tigerflame gaped at her.

"We aren't ready to announce it officially yet," Snowfire went on, sounding as if she were confessing something that made her very embarrassed. "I'm not with kits yet, so we thought we would wait."

Crimsonstar nodded. "Your choice. Just let me know as soon as you are ready to announce yourselves." She flicked Furyclaw with her tail. "Your son has picked a splendid she-cat as his mate, Furyclaw."

Furyclaw was still looking suspicious. "Yes, he has. Shall we head back to camp now?"

"Yes," Crimsonstar said. "Don't stay out too late, Snowfire and Tigerflame. We don't know where those wretched magick cats are hiding."

"We'll hurry back. Thank you, Crimsonstar," Snowfire mewed.

Tigerflame waited for their leader and deputy to get out of earshot before he rounded on Snowfire. "What in StarClan's name was that all about? We're not together!" he snarled.

Snowfire stood and stuck her nose in his face. "You have been sneaking off to visit Moonmist ever since you returned from your journey. I've just given you a way to continue seeing her. I'll cover for you. Whenever you want to go see her, I'll go out with you and be your alibi."

Tigerflame's jaw fell open. "What?" was all he managed to choke out.

The she-cat shook her head. "I saw you leave ShadowClan and walk through the water toward WindClan. When I heard Moonmist was having kits and no one mentioned who the father was, I put two and two together. Why else would you be traveling to WindClan on a regular basis?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Tigerflame just stared at her.

"Because I knew you wouldn't risk it if it weren't for love," Snowfire explained. "You aren't the first warrior to fall in love with someone in a different Clan, you know." She paused and looked down. "And I didn't say anything because I love you."

"Snowfire!" Tigerflame gasped. He'd had no idea! Was that why she'd seemed so friendly with him since he and Russetfrost had returned?

"I know your heart belongs to Moonmist," Snowfire meowed quietly. "I hadn't planned on you finding out I knew. I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything. I keep your secret because I couldn't bear to see what would happen to you if it were to come out."

He touched his nose to her ear. "Thank you. I don't know what else to say."

"You don't have to say anything," Snowfire murmured.

The two of them sat in silence for a few more moments before Snowfire stretched.

"We should head back," she said.

He nodded, and the two walked back to ShadowClan's camp, side-by-side.

* * *

Moonmist woke the next morning feeling groggy. She'd waited nearly all night for Tigerflame, but he never showed up. Her heart wrenched in her chest, as it had been doing all night. Was Tigerflame okay? Was he hurt? Sick? _Worse_? She clawed at her nest, shredding the heather in her despair.

Redkit's eyes opened. He blinked up at Moonmist, curiosity in his darkening eyes. Oh, how he looked so much like his father! She feared someone would figure out her mysterious mate when Redkit's eyes lost all their kitten blue. The Clan treated them rough now. How would they treat her kits if they were they were half ShadowClan?

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," Moonmist whispered to her ginger son.

"It's okay!" Redkit stood up. "Can I go out and play?"

"Not yet," Moonmist said, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn. "It's too early."

Redkit curled up again. "Okay."

Moonmist was able to doze off, but it wasn't long before he squirming kits woke her again. Rainkit saw Moonmist's eyes open. The young white and gray she-cat flicked her tail at the den entrance, clearly asking if she could go out. Moonmist sighed and got to her paws. Merryclaw and her kits were already up and out of the nursery.

"Let's go," Moonmist said.

Both kits scrambled on ahead of her.

"Finally decide to wake up, Moonmist?" Frogshadow, a young black tom, taunted as she walked past him.

She flicked her ears. "I had trouble sleeping last night."

"Anxious to hear what happened at the meeting last night?" Brownclaw said as he padded over with Cloudpool.

Moonmist purred at her parents. "Yes. Has Graystar returned yet?"

"You slept right through the announcement," Cloudpool replied, pressing herself against Moonmist.

"The Clans are going to fight together," Brownclaw added.

Frogshadow grunted. "We'd be mouse-brained not to!"

"Hop off, Frogshadow. Your attitude is darkening my mood," Brownclaw growled.

The tom glared but walked away anyway.

"I'm hungry!" Redkit wailed. "Can I share something with Rainkit from the fresh-kill pile?"

Moonmist nodded. "Don't pick anything too big, Redkit."

"Okay!" Redkit darted off, Rainkit right on his heels.

"I've never seen such an obedient kit," Cloudpool said, a purr rumbling in her chest. "You were never like that, Moonmist."

"Come to think of it, you were the complete opposite," Brownclaw laughed. "Running around, sneaking off anywhere we told you not to go!"

Cloudpool sighed. "I'm just glad you came back from your journey in one piece! I'd hate to see you wonder off that far again."

Moonmist nodded. "Don't worry, Cloudpool. I have no intention of going anywhere. Not with Redkit and Rainkit needing me."

She watched her kits fetch a mouse from the fresh-kill pile and begin to eat. Before she'd had kits, Moonmist couldn't imagine ever loving any cat as much as she loved her kits. But every day she was reminded that they weren't fully WindClan. Whenever Rainkit tried to convey what she wanted because she couldn't speak or Redkit blurted out the truth unintentionally, Moonmist's heart ached. Why did she have to love Tigerflame? There were single toms in WindClan. Why couldn't she have fallen for one of them?

"Moonmist?" Cloudpool's voice broke into her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Hmm? Oh. I'm just tired," the white queen replied. "I didn't sleep well."

"Yes, you said that already," Cloudpool pointed out. "You aren't getting sick, are you?" Moonmist could see the concern in her mother's light amber eyes.

"Of course not," Moonmist said. "If I were, I'd be talking to Dovewing right now."

"If you're sure," Cloudpool murmured. She raised her voice. "Brownclaw and I need to go back out on a hunting patrol, but if you need some time away from the kits..."

"Everything is fine, Cloudpool," Moonmist said sternly. "You go out and hunt. The Clan needs fresh-kill."

She watched her parents leave the camp and then looked around. Few of her Clanmates were in camp. She supposed most of them were out hunting, patrolling, or training. Her brother, Mudtalon, and his apprentice, Graypaw, trotted into the camp just then with fresh-kill dangling from their jaws.

"Hello Redkit and Rainkit!" Mudtalon meowed after he'd dropped his fresh-kill on the pile. "Having a nice meal?"

"Yes!" Redkit said with a purr.

Moonmist walked over. "How was hunting today, Mudtalon?"

Her brown-furred brother flicked his tail. "It isn't easy in leaf-bare, but Graypaw and I managed to find something to bring back."

Graypaw was holding his chin high, obviously pleased with himself. The young tom was certainly shaping up under Mudtalon's watchful mentoring. Moonmist wondered if she would ever have an apprentice of her own, once Redkit and Rainkit were apprentices themselves.

Olivekit and Icekit came racing over to them suddenly. Merryclaw was right behind them. Moonmist noticed the queen's tail was flicking with irritation.

"Hello Merryclaw," Mudtalon said. "And Olivekit and Icekit! You two seem very excited today!"

The two she-cats were quivering with excitement.

"We're going to be apprentices soon!" Icekit shouted.

"No, we're going to be apprentices _tomorrow_!" Olivekit corrected. "Graystar just told us!"

"How wonderful!" Mudtalon said, but Moonmist could see the wariness in her brother's gaze as he looked at Merryclaw.

Moonmist frowned. Olivekit and Icekit had another half moon to go before they reached six moons old, which was the age when kits were supposed to be apprenticed. Was that why Merryclaw was looking so upset...her kits were being apprenticed early?

"Come along, my kits," Merryclaw said. "You have time to celebrate tomorrow."

Merryclaw led her kits away. Moonmist watched them go, feeling sorry for the other queen. Kits weren't often apprenticed early. The threat of the evil cats had been the most likely cause of Graystar's decision to apprentice Olivekit and Icekit a whole half moon early. She just hoped their leader didn't have plans to apprentice her kits early, as well!

There was a commotion near the entrance of the camp. Moonmist turned to see Mildpelt running into the camp. He was quickly followed by Acornleaf and Brackenthorn. She noticed that Acornleaf and Brackenthorn were both bristling with tension as they chased after Mildpelt. What was going on? She quickly stepped over to Redkit and Rainkit and curled her tail around them. Redkit was about to argue, but then he saw the look on Moonmist's face.

"Someone fetch Dovewing!" Acornleaf shouted. "Mildpelt is sick!"

Mudtalon padded forward. "He doesn't look sick."

Mildpelt suddenly turned toward Mudtalon. With a shriek that Moonmist had never heard from a cat before, the ginger tom leaped at Mudtalon. Moonmist's brother barely dodged out of the way. Mildpelt landed in the dirt, his unsheathed claws flashing in the sunlight. From where she sat, Moonmist could see that Mildpelt's pupils were dilated. She couldn't even see that his eyes were green!

"Dovewing!" Moonmist screamed, ushering her kits toward the nursery. Redkit tried to look around her to see what was going on, but she just shoved her kits into the nursery and stood in the entrance. Her entire pelt was on end as she tried to protect her kits from the raging cat.

Mudtalon dodged another leap attack from Mildpelt, who began cursing loudly. Dovewing came running out of her den and skidded to a stop when she saw Mildpelt. The ginger tom took another flying leap at Mudtalon, who spun around and flattened Mildpelt to the ground with his paws. Moonmist watched her brother sit on Mildpelt's chest, but the tom kept struggling.

"Acornleaf, come and help me hold him down!" Mudtalon shouted through clenched teeth.

Acornleaf and Brackenthorn ran up and pressed their paws down on Mildpelt's lower half. Despite now having three other toms on top of him, Mildpelt continued to thrash. His claws scored long marks in the dirt as he swore at them.

"Fox dung! Let me up, you mouse-brained fools! I need to kill him! The rogue is threatening the kits! He's going to kill the kits! You all have fox dung for brains! Fools! Idiots!"

Moonmist flattened her ears. Redkit poked her from behind with his tiny paws, but she ignored the questions that he was shouting at her. What in StarClan's name was wrong with Mildpelt, and why did he think Mudtalon was a rogue threatening the kits?

"Roseheart!" Dovewing shouted. "Bring me poppy seeds! And hurry!"

The elderly medicine cat circled Mildpelt, who was still managing to struggle. Moonmist couldn't describe the shock and confusion on Dovewing's face. Didn't the medicine cat know what was wrong? She had to know what was going on! Moonmist cowered in the nursery entry, her unsheathed claws digging into the dirt. If Dovewing didn't know what was wrong with Mildpelt, then what did that mean?

"He's burning up, Dovewing!" Mudtalon shouted over Mildpelt's curses.

Roseheart ran out with a poppy head in her mouth. Dovewing forced Mildpelt's jaws open and ordered Roseheart to feed him the seeds. With a look of horror on her face, Roseheart did as she was told. As soon as the seeds were in the tom's mouth, the medicine cat apprentice backed away. Dovewing held Mildpelt's jaws shut until he swallowed.

Mildpelt struggled for a few more heartbeats before the poppy seeds began to take affect. His paws stopped flailing. His tail stopped lashing. His body gave a last shudder and his eyes closed to the darkness of dreamless sleep.

"Is he...?" Acornleaf looked up from the ginger tom beneath him.

"No. Just very deep asleep," Dovewing murmured. "You can get off him now."

The three toms leaped away from the now motionless Mildpelt. Moonmist's heart thundered in her chest, but it began to slow as she looked at the peaceful expression on Mildpelt's face. It was strange to think that moments before, he'd been trying to kill her brother.

"What's wrong with him, Dovewing?" Mudtalon asked.

The medicine cat shook her head. "I don't know." She glanced around. "Where is Graystar? Shouldn't he be in camp? Someone fetch him!"

"I'll go find him!" Brackenthorn volunteered. "I think he's out patrolling!"

Dovewing growled as the young tom went running from the camp. "I told Graystar he needed to take it slow! That neck wound..." She cut herself off, shaking her head. "Mudtalon, can you help Roseheart drag Mildpelt into my den, please?"

"Of course," Mudtalon said.

Moonmist finally realized that Redkit was poking her and shouting behind her. She turned to see him staring up at her with wide eyes.

"It's okay now," Moonmist said. She began licking him between the ears before turning and doing the same to Rainkit. "Everything is okay."

"Moonmist?" She turned to see that Acornleaf had approached the nursery. The tom, whose eyes were wide and ears flat, looked genuinely worried as he asked, "Are you okay? The kits weren't harmed, were they?"

She shook her head. "No, they're fine." She whisked her tail around them. "Thankfully I was able to get them into the nursery."

Acornleaf looked relieved. "Thank StarClan. When I saw you were out with Redkit and Rainkit, I was afraid Mildpelt was going to harm them. Or you." He twisted his ears forward. "I don't know what happened. One moment we were out patrolling the RiverClan border, and the next thing I knew Mildpelt was shouting and cursing! Brackenthorn and I had no idea what to do. Then Mildpelt started running toward camp, screaming that the kits were in trouble."

Moonmist shivered. "He's obviously sick."

"Yes, but with _what_?" Acornleaf shook his head. "I've never seen anything like it. Have you?"

"No," Moonmist murmured.

Acornleaf touched her ear with his tail-tip. "Are you sure you're okay, Moonmist?"

"Of course," Moonmist said. "I just didn't sleep well last night, and then this..."

Acornleaf looked worried again. "Do you need to take a nap? I can watch Redkit and Rainkit for you, if you want. I don't mind." He chuckled. "I was actually hoping that Graystar would choose me to mentor Redkit, when the time comes."

"Really?" Redkit's eyes widened with excitement.

Moonmist flicked her tail over Redkit's ears to quiet him. "Thank you, Acornleaf, but no. I'm fine. I don't need help taking care of my own kits."

Acornleaf twisted his ears back. "That's not what I was saying at all, Moonmist. I know you're completely capable of taking care of them." His expression softened. "But you're looking very tired. Even mothers need a rest from their kits occasionally. Come on! I promise I won't let them get into trouble."

"Please, Moonmist!" Redkit pleaded. "Please!"

Moonmist sighed. "Okay. But...keep them away from Dovewing's den. I don't want them anywhere near there."

"Of course not," Acornleaf said. "Now you go and curl up in your warm nest and have a nice, long nap. I'll go teach these two a few hunting moves, so they're more than ready to become apprentices!"

"Yeah!" Redkit shouted.

Rainkit's whole body wiggled with excitement.

"Be careful!" Moonmist called to her kits as they ran after Acornleaf to the other side of the camp, as far away from the medicine cat's den as they could get.

With a heavy sigh, Moonmist slipped fully into the nursery. She jumped when she saw Merryclaw curled in her nest with Olivekit and Icekit. Both little she-cats were fast asleep, which surprised Moonmist after the huge fight outside. She noticed Merryclaw was glaring at her with her light brown eyes.

"Mildpelt is sick, isn't he?" Merryclaw asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Moonmist nodded. She'd completely forgotten that Mildpelt was Merryclaw's littermate. "He has a fever and was having hallucinations," she murmured. "Dovewing gave him poppy seeds to put him to sleep. He's in her den now."

Moonmist couldn't name the look on the she-cat's face as she looked down at her sleeping kits. Worry, perhaps? Olivekit and Icekit looked like tiny angels curled up side-by-side in the nest. Moonmist hadn't noticed just how big the two were now. They certainly were big enough to be made apprentices.

"He likes you," Merryclaw said suddenly. "Acornleaf, I mean. I know that you're totally oblivious to it, of course. You're either sleeping, chasing after your kits, or daydreaming about StarClan knows what. But he's been pining after you for two moons, and he adores Redkit and Rainkit. I keep telling him to give up on you because you're quite obviously in love with someone you can't tell us about. I'm assuming it's the father of your kits. But it's also very obvious that you can't be with your mysterious tom, wherever he may be. So why not give Acornleaf a chance? He would be an excellent father."

Moonmist stared at the other queen, not knowing what to say to what she'd just revealed. What could she say to that? Merryclaw couldn't possibly know that Moonmist had been going off to meet with Tigerflame at night. Unless she'd woken up to see Moonmist leaving the nursery or not in her nest in the middle of the night?

Merryclaw looked up at her again. "Oh, don't give me that look. I know you must have loved their father very much. But it's time to forget him. You returned for a reason, didn't you? You're a Clan cat, just as much as the rest of us. Their father wasn't. Acornleaf won't wait forever, and I know you'd be happy with him if you'd just give him a chance."

Moonmist sighed. So that was it. Merryclaw believed that Redkit and Rainkit's father was a loner or rogue, probably one they'd met along the journey.

"Well?" Merryclaw prompted, waiting for some sort of answer.

The white queen fidgeted under the other gaze of the other. "I'll think about it."

Merryclaw rolled her eyes but said nothing more.

Her brain buzzing, Moonmist curled into her nest and drifted into a fitful sleep filled with dreams of Tigerflame disappearing and Acornleaf calling her name.

* * *

**End of Chapter Nine**


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